BX  9178  .G52  S4  1907 
Girardeau,  John  L.  1823 

1898. 
Sermons 


<y^ii^yi0U.  xye/T^^^tyL^^^Ce^oL^-^— 


SERMONS 


BY 

JOHN  L.  GIRARDEAU,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Late  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Columbia,  S.  C. 


EDITED  BY 

REV.  GEORGE  A.  BLACKBURN, 

Under  the  Auspices  of  the  Synods  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia^ 
Alabama  and  Florida. 


Columbia.  S.  C. 
THE  STATE  COMPANY. 

1907. 


THE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  SYNODS 

Rev.  W.  T.  Hall,  D.  D.,  Chairman,  South  Carolina. 
Rev.  Thos.  P.  Hay,  Business  Manager,  Florida. 
Rev.  J.  T.  Plunket,  D.  D.,  Georgia. 
Rev.  Donald  McQueen,  Alabama. 
Ruling  Elder  W.  C.  Sibley,  Georgia. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Editor's  Preface 7 

Introduction— by  Rev.  W.  T.  Hall,  D.  D.     .      .         9 
The  Last  Judgment 13 

2  Cor.  V,  10 :  "For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ,  that  every  one  may  receive  the 
things  done  in  his  body  according  to  that  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad." 

Sanctification  by  Grace 39 

Rom.  vi,  1-2 :  "What  shall  we  say  then?  Shall  we  con- 
tinue in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound?  God  forbid. 
How  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer 
therein?" 

The   Office   of  Works   of    Charity   in   the   Last 

Judgment 68 

Mat.  XXV,  40:  "And  the  king  shall  answer  and  say 
unto  them.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

The  Signs  of  the  Times— In  the  World     ...       90 
Mat.  xvi,  3 :  "O  ye  hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the  face 
of  the  sky;  but  can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times?" 

The  Signs  of  the  Times— In  the  Church     ...     113 
Mat.  xvi,  3 :  "O  ye  hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the  face 
of  the  sky;  but  can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times?" 

Family  Religion 136 

Col.  iii,  18-20:  "Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your 
own  husbands,  as  it  is  fit  In  the  Lord.  Husbands,  love 
your  wives,  and  be  not  bitter  against  them.  Children, 
obey  your  parents  in  all  things ;  for  this  is  well- 
pleasing  unto  the  Lord.     Fathers,  provoke  not  your 


4  Table  of  Contents 

Page 

children  to  anger,  lest  they  be  discouraged." 
Eph.  vi,  4 :  "Ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to 
wrath :  but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admo- 
nition of  the  Lord."  Acts  ii,  39 :  "For  the  promise  is 
unto  you  and  to  your  children."  Jer.  x,  25:  "Pour 
out  thy  fury  upon  the  heathen  that  know  thee  not, 
and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  on  thy  name." 

The   Dying   Corn   of   Wheat,   and   Its   Glorious 

Harvest 172 

John  xii,  24 :  "Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  except  a 
corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it 
abideth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit." 

The  Glorious  Gospel  of  the  Blessed  God    ...     193 
I   Tim.   i,   11:     "The   glorious   Gospel   of   the   blessed 
God,  which  was  committed  to  my  trust." 

The  Prosperity  and  Efficiency  of  a  Church  .  .  220 
Eph.  iv,  15-16:  "But  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may 
grow  up  into  him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  head, 
even  Christ :  from  whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined 
together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint 
supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

The  Nature  of  Prayer 254 

Lk.  xviii,  1 :   "Men  ought  always  to  pray." 

The  Spirit  of  Prayer:  or  the  Manner  in  Which 

it  Ought  to  be  Performed 268 

Heb.  X,  22 :  "Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  in 
full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water." 

The  Grounds  of  Prayer 283 

Heb.  X,  19-21 :  "Having  therefore,  brethren,  boldness 
to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a 
new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath  consecrated  for 
us  through  the  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh ;  and 
having  a  high  priest  over  the  house  of  God ;  let  us 
draw  near." 


Table  of  Contents  5 

Page 
TheEfficacy  of  Prayer 297 

James  v,  16 :   "The  effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  right- 
eous man  availeth  much." 

The  Consistency  of  Prayer  with  Natural  Law     .     312 
James  v,  16 :   "The  effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  right- 
eous man  availeth  much." 

The  Rest  of  the  People  of  God 331 

Heb.  iv,  9 :    "There  remaineth,  therefore,  a  rest  to  the 
people  of  God." 

Unbelief  in  Christ  the  Greatest  of  Sins     .      .      .     351 
John  xvi,  9 :   "Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  me." 

The  Discretionary  Power  of  the  Church    .      .      .369 
Math,    xxviii,    20:     "Teaching    them    to    observe    all 
things,  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

Many  of  the  admirers  of  Dr.  Girardeau  will  doubt- 
less be  disappointed  when  they  read  these  sermons. 
They  will  remember  their  emotions  under  the  spell  of 
his  eloquence,  and  will  be  surprised  that  they  do  not 
experience  them  again  as  they  read  this  volume. 

Dr.  Girardeau  had  all  of  the  gifts  that  belong  to  the 
orator, — figure,  voice,  gesture,  emotion,  imagination  and 
magnetism.  Wlien  he  was  on  his  feet  before  an  audi- 
ence, the  spirit  of  the  orator  dominated  him.  He  was 
also  a  profound  thinker, — analytical,  logical,  cautious, 
and  clear.  When  he  sat  down  to  write,  the  spirit  of  the 
thinker  dominated  him.  These  sermons  were  written, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  one  on  "The  Last  Judg- 
ment," are  not  as  eloquent  as  those  that  were  outlined 
at  his  desk  and  filled  out  as  he  spoke.  It  has  often  been 
said  that  sermons  were  to  be  heard,  not  read.  He 
understood  this,  and  seldom  wrote  a  sermon.  He  was 
frequently  urged  to  prepare  a  volume  for  publication, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  write  a  list  of  subjects  to  be 
treated,  but  he  carried  the  scheme  no  further.  The 
editor  and  the  committee  concur  in  the  opinion  that  all 
of  the  sermons  left  by  him  should  be  published,  even 
though  they  do  not  fully  portray  his  power  as  a 
preacher.  They  show  the  doctrines  that  he  preached, 
and  his  general  method  of  presenting  truth;  some  of 
them  treat  timely  subjects,  and  others  are  connected 
with  important  events. 

There  is  another  reason  for  their  publication.  Our 
clearest  notions  of  the  religious  life  of  any  age  are 
gathered  from  the  sermons  of  the  representative  men 


8  Editor's  Preface 

of  that  age.  When  the  future  historian  of  the  church 
shall  come  to  portray  the  life  and  experience  of  our 
time  h&  will  find  here  the  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
that  type  of  religion  that  has  always  been  the  glory  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

George  A.  Blackburn. 
Columbia,  S.  C. 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  year  1897  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
four  synods  having  control  of  Columbia  Theological 
Seminary  to  assist  the  editor,  Eev.  G.  A.  Blackburn, 
in  examining  and  preparing  for  the  press  the  unpub- 
lished writings  of  the  Rev.  John  L.  Girardeau,  D.  D., 
L.L.  D.  The  principal  function  of  this  committee  has 
been  to  determine,  after  a  careful  examination  of  a 
mass  of  material,  what  should  be  published  and  what 
withheld.  With  the  present  volume  the  labors  of  this 
committee  will  end.  It  has  been  a  precious  privilege  to 
take  some  part,  however  humble,  in  giving  permanent 
form  to  the  thoughts  of  so  distinguished  a  servant  of 
Christ. 

As  this  is  to  be  a  volume  of  sermons,  perhaps  the 
introductory  words  can  be  spoken  more  freely  by  the 
committee,  through  its  chairman,  than  by  the  editor. 
My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Girardeau  began  while  I 
was  pursuing  my  preparatory  studies  in  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  at  Columbia.  At  that  time  the  Synod  of 
South  Carolina  contained  an  unusually  large  number 
of  remarkable  preachers.  Drs.  Smythe,  Thornwell, 
and  Palmer  were  in  their  prime.  A  number  of  younger 
men  were  also  coming  rapidly  into  favor.  Dr.  Girar- 
deau, in  public  estimation,  was  easily  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  younger  generation;  and  he  continued  to  hold 
the  first  place  as  long  as  he  lived.  For  many  years  he 
was  regarded  as  the  great  preacher  of  this  section  of 
the  church. 

Dr.  John  A.  Broadus,  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Church,  relates  that  when  he  entered  the  ministry  he 


10  Introduction 

wrote  to  his  former  chaplain  at  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia for  some  hints  that  would  be  helpful  to  him.  To 
his  request  he  received  the  following  laconic  reply: 
"Study  Butler's  Analogy  and  preach  to  the  negroes, 
and  it  will  make  a  man  of  you."  Perhaps  this  counsel 
was  never  more  literally  followed  or  more  thoroughly 
vindicated  than  by  Dr.  Girardeau.  The  white  people 
of  Charleston  built  for  the  colored  population  a  large 
and  handsome  Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Girardeau 
became  the  pastor  of  the  flock.  It  was  in  this  field  he 
won  his  great  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator.  Visitors 
to  Charleston  had  placed  conspicuously  before  them 
the  kindly  relation  of  master  and  slave,  as  well  as  the 
profound  interest  felt  by  the  white  Christian  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  their  colored  brethren.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  great  talents  are  wasted  on  plain 
people.  To  preach  the  gospel  successfully  to  the  poor 
demands  an  ability  to  bring  the  high  themes  of  religion 
down  to  the  level  of  ordinary  understanding,  or,  rather, 
the  capacity  to  quicken  the  sluggish  intellect  and  ele- 
vate it  to  the  plane  of  Scripture  truth.  Dr.  Girardeau 
gave  heed  to  the  first  part  of  the  counsel  as  well  as  to 
the  second.  He  was  all  his  life  an  intense  student.  His 
bent  was  in  the  direction  of  those  studies  which  most 
severely  tax  and,  consequently,  most  effectively  develop 
the  intellectual  powers.  The  volumes  of  his  works  al- 
ready published  vindicate  this  remark.  In  two  of 
them  we  have  the  fruits  of  his  speculations  in  phil- 
osophy. The  other  three  show  how  profoundly  he  had 
meditated  on  theological  problems. 

Dr.  Girardeau  belonged,  in  his  measure,  to  the  high- 
est class  of  great  preachers.  The  church  has  never 
lacked  effective  preachers  at  any  period  in  which  she 
was  alive  to  her  great  mission.     But  the  number  of 


Introduction  11 

those  who  have  greatly  impressed  their  own  generation 
as  living  preachers,  and  continued  to  impress  subse- 
quent generations  through  their  published  discourses,  is 
small.  Weight  of  matter  is  indispensable  to  the  deep- 
est and  most  abiding  impression  in  the  case  of  the  liv- 
ing preacher :  it  is  all  that  is  left  after  the  voice  of  the 
preacher  has  been  silenced  by  death.  Dr.  Girard^eau 
possessed  many  qualities  which  appeared  to  advantage 
in  the  pulpit.  In  person  and  voice,  in  intellectual 
vigor,  in  sweep  of  fancy,  in  depth  of  feeling,  and  in 
dramatic  power  he  was  richly  endowed.  But  these 
accessories  are  all  gone.  They  live  only  in  tradition. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  his  discourses  will  bear 
publication.  That  they  "are  not  absolutely  dead  things, 
but  do  contain  a  progeny  of  life  in  them  to  be  as  active 
as  that  soul  was  whose  progeny  they  are;  nay,  they 
do  preserve,  as  in  a  vial,  the  present  efficacy  and  ex- 
traction of  that  living  intellect  that  bred  them."  We 
believe  also  that  there  is  a  demand  for  such  a  volume 
as  this.  Dr.  Girardeau  was  more  widely  known  as  a 
preacher  than  as  a  teacher.  And  many  are  anxious  to 
welcome  a  volume  of  his  sermons  who  feel  no  especial 
interest  in  his  philosophical  or  theological  speculations. 

In  the  selection  of  these  discourses  regard  has  been 
had  to  the  future  usefulness  of  the  author  as  well  as  to 
his  reputation.  Most  of  them  are  the  products  of  his 
matured  powers,  and  most  of  them  were  delivered  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  his  pulpit  ministrations. 

Before  closing,  it  may  be  well  to  express  the  opinion 
that  a  biography  of  Dr.  Girardeau  should  be  furnished 
to  the  church.  His  piety  was  deep  and  fervent.  It 
was  perhaps  his  most  characteristic  quality.  The  life 
of  such  a  man,  carefully  prepared  and  giving  promi- 
nence to  this  trait,  would  be  very  helpful  at  this  time. 


12  Introduction 

If  it  should  be  found,  as  we  apprehend  may  be  the  case, 
that  he  has  preserved  among  his  papers  but  little  to 
aid  the  editor  in  such  an  undertaking,  recourse  may  be 
had  to  the  current  history  of  the  Southern  church  dur- 
ing the  period  in  which  he  was  a  prominent  actor.  He 
took  an  earnest  and  influential  part  in  the  discussion 
and  settlement  of  many  questions  affecting  the  worship, 
polity,  and  policy  of  the  church. 

W.  T.  Hall. 
Columbia,  S.  C,  June  13,  1905. 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT 

2  Cor.  V.  10.  "7^6»r  we  must  all  appear  hefore  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christy  that  every  one  may  receive 
the  things  done  in  his  body  according  to  that  he  hath 
done,  whether  it  he  good  or  had^ 

I  invite  your  attention,  my  brethren,  to  a  subject  of 
more  than  usual  solemnity  and  awe.  And  I  confess 
that  I  approach  it  not  without  fear,  lest,  on  the  one 
hand,  a  theme  of  terrific  grandeur  and  transcendent 
interest  should  suffer  from  inadequacy  of  treatment, 
and  lest,  on  the  other,  it  should  meet  with  a  reception 
disproportionate  to  its  claims,  and  only  render  more 
fearful  a  subsequent  thoughtlessness  and  disregard. 
Conscious  of  this  danger,  I  would  earnestly  invoke  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  impress  upon  every 
heart  the  truth  which  may  be  spoken. 

The  text  brings  to  our  notice  the  last  act  in  the  great 
drama  of  this  world's  history.  Among  minds  fond  of 
speculating  upon  the  probable  issues  of  the  future,  con- 
siderable discussion  has  taken  place  as  to  certain  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  the  last  judgment  which 
can  never  be  clearly  ascertained  before  the  event  itself. 
The  precise  time  of  its  arrival,  the  place  of  assembly, 


Note. — There  is  nothing  iri  the  manuscript  of  Dr.  Girardeau  to 
show  when  this  sermon  was  prepared,  nor  where  it  was  preached.  It 
always  made  a  profound  impression,  and  congregations  frequently 
requested  him  to  preach  it  a  second  time.  His  most  judicious  friends 
never  regarded  it  as  the  equal  of  many  of  his  other  sermons,  espe- 
cially of  those  that  dealt  with  the  completeness  of  the  work  of 
Christ,  and  the  extent  of  His  love  for  His  people,  but  unfortunately 
none  of  these  were  written. 


14  Sermons 

and  the  duration  of  the  trial  are  matters  which,  how- 
ever we  may  speculate  about  them,  God  has  never  seen 
fit  definitely  to  reveal. 

In  regard  to  the  time  when  the  judgment  will  begin 
we  are,  happily  for  ourselves,  in  total  darkness.  The 
Scriptures  assure  us  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  shall 
come  as  a  thief  in  the  night,  and  that  when  men  shall 
solace  themselves  with  the  cry  of  peace  and  safety,  then 
sudden  destruction  shall  come  upon  them  as  travail 
upon  a  woman  with  child,  and  they  shall  not  escape. 
The  very  ignorance  which  shuts  out  the  knowledge  of 
the  time  is  the  most  powerful  incentive  to  diligent 
preparation.  "Watch,  for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor 
the  hour  when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh." 

As  to  the  locality,  it  has  been  conjectured, — with 
how  much  truth  I  venture  not  to  say, — from  a  certain 
passage  in  the  First  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Thessalon- 
ians,  in  which  the  apostle  says,  we  shall  be  caught  up 
in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  that  the 
atmosphere  which  environs  the  earth  will  be  the  scene 
of  the  last  great  assize. 

With  reference  to  the  duration  of  the  judicial  pro- 
cess, it  has  been  the  opinion  of  some  that  the  usual 
phraseology  in  which  the  Scriptures  advert  to  the  day 
of  judgment  is  to  be  received  according  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  prophecy,  and  that  from  the  important 
relation  which  it  will  sustain  to  the  present  state,  the 
judicial  process  will  mark  a  new  dispensation.  Most, 
however,  understand  the  language  of  Scripture  in  its 
simplest  and  most  obvious  sense,  and  suppose  that 
there  will  be  a  definite  day  in  which  the  final  destiny 
of  all  mankind  shall,  with  a  rapidity  not  impossible 
to  almighty  power  and  infinite  knowledge,  be  at  once 


Girardeau  15 

and  forever  settled.  "For  He  hath  appointed  a  day  in 
which  He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness." 

I.  There  are  two  independent  but  concurrent  lines 
of  argument  which  furnish  a  powerfvil  rational  pre- 
sumption in  favor  of  a  future  judgment.  In  the  first 
place,  there  is  something  significant  in  the  fact  that 
the  decisions  of  conscience  are  felt  not  to  be  ultimate, 
but  prospective  and  premonitory.  Conscience  repre- 
sents God  in  the  human  soul,  and  derives  its  authority 
entirely  from  Him.  It  is  God's  law,  God's  court,  and 
God's  bar  in  the  nature  of  man.  It  is  this  which  gives 
it  its  power  to  bestow  peace  upon  the  righteous  and  to 
break  the  carnal  security  of  the  ungodly.  Were  it  not 
for  the  felt  conviction  that  it  refers  its  decisions  to  the 
sanction  of  a  higher  tribunal,  men  might  be  content  to 
flout  its  feeble  utterances  and  laugh  at  its  vain  pro- 
tests amidst  the  furious  clamor  and  the  deafening 
uproar  of  the  passions.  Imbecility  would  render  the 
court  ridiculous.  But  its  finger  points  to  another  court 
and  another  bar.  It  pronounces  its  decisions  with 
references  to  the  future.  This  it  is  which  clothes  it 
with  indisputable  authority.  It  is  felt  to  be  founded 
on  eternal  rectitude  and  supported  by  the  resources  of 
omnipotence.  The  pervading  conviction  is — and  it  is 
one  which  cannot  be  shaken  from  the  soul — that  these 
solemn  sentences  will  be  ratified  by  the  doom  of  a 
higher  judge,  and  carried  into  execution  by  an  invinci- 
ble arm.  There  thus  arises  out  of  the  depths  of  our 
moral  nature  an  awful  testimony  to  the  certainty  of  a 
future  and  final  judgment. 

Nor,  in  the  next  place,  ought  the  fact  to  be  over- 
looked that  a  moral  government,  embodying  in  itself  as 
an  integral  element  the  distribution  of  rewards  and 


16  Sermons 

punishments  is  begun  but  not  consummated  in  the  pres- 
ent life.  It  is  clear  that  the  providence  of  God,  both  in 
its  natural  and  moral  aspects,  proceeds  in  some  degree 
upon  the  principle  of  retribution;  but  it  is  equally 
clear  that  that  principle  is  not  employed  to  its  legiti- 
mate extent.  There  does  not  appear  to  be  in  all  cases 
a  precise  adaptation  of  rewards  and  penalties  to  the 
nature  of  moral  actions  and  the  conduct  of  moral 
agents.  For,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  no  suf- 
fering, however  severe,  is  undeserved  even  by  the  most 
pious,  still  the  fact  cannot  be  disguised  that  some  godly 
men  are  called  upon  to  endure  more  frequent  and  pro- 
tracted trials  than  some  who  are  ungodly.  Here  lies 
the  difficulty.  And  on  the  supposition  that  there  will 
be  no  adequate  distribution  of  retributive  consequences 
in  another  state  than  the  present,  it  would  be  an  inex- 
plicable anomaly.  But  admit  the  justice  of  God  as  the 
moral  governor  of  mankind,  and  the  presumption  is 
irresistible  in  favor  of  the  completion  of  the  now 
existing  scheme  of  retribution  in  a  state  be3^ond  the 
grave.  Of  that  moral  government  which  is  here  begun, 
and  enforced  just  enough  to  establish  its  leading  prin- 
ciples, the  consummate  exhibition  is  laid  over  to  an- 
other life. 

The  wicked  and  reckless  transgressor  of  every  prin- 
ciple of  right,  the  man  who  tramples  under  foot  every 
obligation  to  his  Maker  and  every  sacred  relation  to 
humanity,  who  curses  God  to  His  face,  and  soaks  his 
hands  in  the  warm  and  bubbling  life-blood  of  his 
brother;  he  who  revels  in  filth  and  licentiousness,  and 
slaughters  on  the  altar  of  his  lusts  the  dearest  coven- 
ants between  man  and  man,  who  creeps  like  a  viper  into 
the  bosom  of  virtue  and  fastens  his  poisoned  fangs 


Girardeau  17 

upon  unsuspecting  and  helpless  innocence, — yes,  the 
monster  whom  the  earth  groans  under  and  the  heavens 
frown  upon,  upon  whose  head  the  voice  of  injured  and 
outraged  humanity  cries  bitterly  for  vengeance, — this 
man  is  permitted  to  flourish  like  the  green  bay-tree 
beside  quiet  waters,  and  at  last  it  may  be  without  a 
struggle  or  a  pang  to  lie  down  in  peace  and  die.  Is 
this,  can  this  be,  all  that  the  justice  of  a  perfect  being 
requires  ? 

Now  turn  and  look.  Here  is  a  man  who  is  actuated 
by  a  constant  desire  to  glorify  his  God;  who,  with 
every  morning's  light  and  evening's  shade  gathers 
around  the  famly-altar  the  wife  and  children  whom 
he  recognizes  as  the  gifts  of  his  Heavenly  Father ;  who 
delights  to  tread  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  to  sing 
His  praise  and  hear  His  word ;  who  respects  ever}-  rela- 
tion which  binds  him  to  his  fellow-man;  who  would 
rather  be  the  ''trampled  on  than  the  trampler,"  carry- 
ing a  heart  from  whose  sweet  and  brimful  fountain  are 
ever  gushing  streams  of  charity  to  all  around  him;  who 
sits  and  watches  till  the  breaking  day  by  the  dying 
bedside  of  his  foe :  who  gently  wipes  avrnj  the  orphan's 
tears,  and  by  timely  compassion  causes  the  widow's 
heart  to  sing  for  joy, — this  man  is  left  to  drag  out  a 
life  of  poverty  and  want  and  squalid  wretchedness,  and 
at  the  last  to  roast  in  the  martyr's  flame  or  to  stretch 
himself  on  the  bare,  cold  earth,  and  breathe  out  his 
spirit  without  a  friend  to  close  his  dying  eye.  Oh, 
say,  is  there  no  future  judgment?  Is  there  no  tribunal 
beyond  the  grave  where  this  man  will  be  rewarded? 
Yea,  there  is,  there  must  be.  Justice  herself  rises  in 
indignant  majesty  at  the  question,  and  with  gathering 
brow  and  portentous  finger  points  to  a  flaming  bar,  at 
which,  with  equal  balances  in  hand,  an  impartial  and 


18  Sermons 

infallible  Judge  will  rectify  the  inequalities  of  life  and 
assign  to  every  soul  a  proper  and  incontestable  doom. 

These  powerful  presumptions  of  reason  in  favor  of 
the  fact  of  a  future  judgment  are  so  amply  sustained 
by  numerous  and  explicit  testimonies  of  Scripture  that 
I  will  not  pause  to  signalize  them,  but  pass  on  to 
remark  in  the  next  place: 

II.  Jesus  Christ  will  be  the  final  Judge.  With 
respect  to  judicial  authorit}'  it  is  true  that  the  triune 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  will  be  the  Judge. 
This  the  Psalmist  magnificently  sets  forth  when  he 
says,  "The  heavens  shall  declare  His  righteousness,  for 
God  is  Judge  Himself.  The  mighty  God,  even  the 
Lord  hath  sjDoken  and  called  the  earth  from  the  rising 
of  the  sun  unto  the  going  down  thereof.'"'  Doubtless 
the  terrors  and  splendors,  the  glory  and  the  wrath  of 
absolute  and  infinite  Deity  will  be  gathered  around  the 
judgment-throne,  and  render  insufferably  august  and 
imposing  the  pageantry  of  the  tremendous  day.  There 
will  nothing  be  lacking  to  clothe  the  scene  with  the 
authority  and  sanction  of  the  present  Godhead.  Heaven 
will  lend  its  glories  and  hell  its  horrors  to  emphasize 
the  proceedings  of  the  day.  Sovereign  grace,  heavenly 
mercy,  spotless  holiness,  insulted  justice,  unerring 
truth,  resistless  power,  and  consuming  wrath,  Avill  all 
be  present  and  preside  at  the  solemnities  of  the  occa- 
sion. 

But,  although  God  in  three  persons  will  be  the  Judge 
as  to  original  authority,  we  are  assured  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  Mediator,  will  be  the  Judge  in  respect 
to  the  immediate  exercise  and  dispensation  of  the  judi- 
cial prerogative.  "God  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which 
He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man 
whom  he  hath  ordained."     He  will  appear  in  human 


Girardeau  19 

nature  with  all  the  marks  of  His  sufferings  on  Calvary, 
so  as  to  be  visible  to  every  eye  that  shall  behold  the 
eventful  scene.  And  it  is  no  doubt  eminently  proper 
that  Christ,  as  Mediator,  should  be  the  Jlidge,  because 
the  judgment  will  constitute  an  integral  part  of  the 
scheme  of  redemption,  and  will  be  the  closing  act  in  the 
history  of  its  application,  and  the  inviolable  seal  of 
men's  relations  to  it. 

The  salvation  of  His  blood-bought  people  will  not  be 
completed  until  He  comes  to  judgment.  Many,  we  are 
taught  to  believe,  will  then  be  alive  upon  earth,  and 
will  be  struggling  with  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the 
Devil ;  and  in  regard  to  none  will  the  formal  and  final 
sentence  have  been  pronounced  which  will  be  the  signal 
of  their  complete  redemption,  and  of  their  abundant 
entrance  in  their  whole  personality  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Until 
the  announcement  of  His  second  coming,  all  His  saints 
cast  an  anxious  eye  to  the  future  and  look  forward  to 
the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  even  our 
Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Not  till  then  will  the  whole  church 
stand  confessed,  the  church  triumphant,  stripped 
of  the  sweated  armor  of  conflict,  arrayed  in  the  white 
robes  and  crowned  with  the  amaranth  of  victory.  Not 
till  then  will  He  be  admired  in  all  them  that  believe, 
and  the  headstone  of  their  salvation  be  brought  forth 
with  shoutings  of  grace,  grace  unto  it !  Then  will  that 
august  temple  which  far  outshines  the  glory  of  Solo- 
mon's, built  on  the  foundation  of  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  cornerstone, 
cemented  by  atoning  blood  and  composed  of  living 
stones,  be  finished,  and  the  top-stone  laid  on  amidst  the 
rising  hosannas  of  ransomed  sinners  and  the  thunder- 
ing hallelujahs  of  angelic  choirs.    Then  will  the  scaf- 


20  Sermons 

folding  of  earthly  ordinances,  as  no  longer  necessary, 
be  removed,  the  veil  of  the  upper  temple  be  rent  in 
twain,  and  the  sanctities  of  the  heavenly  holy  of  holies, 
whither  our  forerunner  had  gone,  become  conspicuous 
to  the  ravished  e3^es  of  long  expectant  saints.  The 
earthly  sanctuary  shall  be  closed,  the  Bible  shut,  the 
pulpit  vacated,  and  the  voice  of  intercession  stilled. 
The  evangelic  trumpet — the  melodious  cheering,  thrill- 
ing trump  of  jubilee — proclaiming  deliverance  to  the 
slaves  of  sin  and  death  and  hell  be  silenced  and  laid 
aside;  the  Apocalyptic  angel,  flying  mid-heaven  with 
the  everlasting  Gospel,  shall  close  his  wings  and  cease 
his  flight;  the  invitations  of  mercy  and  the  calls  of 
incarnate  love  shall  be  issued  no  more,  and  the  beam- 
ing sun  of  the  day  of  grace  shall  have  set  in  the  black- 
ness of  an  everlasting  night.  Our  Savior,  as  the  final 
act  of  His  redeeming  work,  shall  shut  the  volume  of 
grace  and  open  that  of  eternal  judgment. 

It  is  also  fit  that  Jesus  should  be  the  final  Judge, 
because  He  is  the  Son  of  Man,  because  He  possesses  the 
nature  Avhich  is  to  be  arraigned  at  the  bar,  and  having 
been  a  companion  of  men  in  the  flesh,  experimentally 
knew  their  temptations,  though  Himself  without  sin, 
and  by  actual  observation  as  a  man  among  them  is 
acquainted  with  their  constitution,  motives,  and  weak- 
nesses, their  circumstances,  opportunities,  and  chances. 
No  foreigner  to  the  human  race  will  fill  the  judgment- 
seat  before  which  that  human  race  shall  stand  to 
receive  irrevocable  assignment  to  heaven  or  to  hell.  A 
man  will  be  the  judge.  He  knows  the  measure  of  their 
case. 

It  is  moreover  fit  that  Christ  should  be  the  Judge 
because  His  session  on  the  judgment-throne  and  the 
exercise   of  the  judicial   pi-erogative  are  part  of  the 


Girardeau  21 

promised  reward  of  His  humiliation  during  the  dis- 
charge of  His  mediatorial  work.  He  had  in  view  of 
this  reward  voluntarily  humbled  Himself  to  undertake 
the  stupendous  task  of  man's  redemption.  He  denuded 
Himself  of  His  glory,  descended  the  ladder  of  humilia- 
tion, assumed  our  feeble  flesh,  was  born  in  a  stable  and 
cradled  in  a  manger,  was  destitute  of  a  pillow  on  which 
to  lay  His  head  when  the  labors  of  each  toilsome  day 
were  done,  offered  up  prayers  with  strong  cryings  and 
tears,  was  roughly  arrested  like  a  felon,  was  arraigned 
and  condemned  at  an  iniquitous  human  bar,  was 
excommunicated  from  His  own  visible  church,  suffered 
an  ignominious  death  as  a  chief  malefactor  between 
two  thieves,  was  jeered  by  ministers  and  elders  in  His 
expiring  agonies,  and  died  without  a  foot  of  ground 
in  which  His  mortal  part  could  rest.  But,  in  that  day 
the  shame  of  His  humiliation  shall  be  remembered 
only  to  heighten  the  glory  of  an  unparalleled  reward. 
The  apostle  portrays  it  grandly  when  he  says,  '"Wlio 
being  in  the  form  of  God  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,  but  made  Himself  of  no  reputation  and 
took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in 
the  likeness  of  men :  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a 
man,  He  humbled  Himself  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  "Wherefore  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and  given  Him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus 
every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
on  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father.  For  once,  at  least,  shall 
angels,  men  and  devils  be  assembled  in  one  great  con- 
gregation,— it  shall  be  before  yon  blazing  throne,  on 


22  Sermons 

bended  knee,  to  pay  a  willing  or  reluctant  homage  to 
the  glorified  Nazarene. 

Still,  further,  it  is  fit  that  Jesus  Christ  should  be  the 
final  Judge,  that  the  person  and  claims  of  the  dishon- 
ored Savior  may  be  vindicated  before  an  assembled 
world.  Although  He  sacrificed  glory  and  honor  and 
the  worship  of  the  heavenly  host,  and  became  poor  that 
we,  through  His  poverty,  might  be  made  rich ;  although 
He  carried  the  cross  that  sinners  might  wear  a  crown, 
yet  was  our  blessed  Master  despised  and  rejected  of 
men.  He  is  to  many  a  root  out  of  dry  ground,  without 
form  or  comeliness,  and  when  they  see  Him  there  is  no 
beauty  that  they  should  desire  Him.  Albeit  He  was 
the  living  personification  of  virtue — a  sight  which 
Plato  said  if  men  could  behold  they  would  be  beguiled 
from  the  path  of  vice  and  allured  into  that  of  right, 
and  although  He  exemplified  in  His  own  conduct  every 
holy  precept  which  He  inculcated,  and  stood  forth  the 
sole  instance  among  men  of  unstained  character  and 
uncompromised  principle — the  blooming  flower  of 
humanity  and  the  brilliant  reflection  of  the  divine 
glor}^  yet  is  He  treated  with  contumely  and  scorn ;  and 
the  sacred  religion  which  He  established  at  the  expense 
of  Hts  life,  the  institute  of  human  salvation,  the  infirm- 
ary for  human  sicknesses,  the  ayslum  from  human  woes, 
and  the  charter  of  human  hope,  is  caricatured  as  an 
imposture  and  rejected  as  a  fraud.  Infidelity  scruples 
not  to  laugh  at  miracles,  which,  as  instances  of  mercy, 
conquered  nature  to  relieve  the  wretchedness  of  men, 
and  as  instances  of  power  wrought  conviction  in  the 
devils  themselves.  He  healed  the  sick  of  their  every 
malady;  He  cured  the  leprosy  with  a  touch.  He 
strengthened  the  palsied  with  a  word.  He  gave  speech 
to  the  dumb,  hearing  to  the  d«af ,  and  sight  to  the 


Girardeau  23 

blind;  He  speaks  and  the  ravings  of  the  tempest  are 
hushed,  the  shrieking  wind  subsides  into  a  whisper, 
and  the  storm-tossed  and  foaming  billows  sink  into 
sudden  and  surprising  peace ;  He  arrests  a  funeral  pro- 
cession by  startling  the  corpse  from  its  bier,  and  stand- 
ing at  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  rouses  with  His  almighty 
voice  the  mouldering  flesh  from  the  cerements  of 
the  tomb.  And  yet,  when  He  stands  at  Pilate's  bar, 
derided,  scourged  and  spitted  on,  the  very  men  who 
had  been  witnesses  of  these  amazing  displays  of  His 
divine  power,  and  these  unimpeachable  credentials  of 
His  divine  commission,  press  around  His  mangled  body 
and  lift  the  cruel  and  pitiless  shout  which  demands  the 
blood  of  His  heart.  Be  astonished,  O  ye  heavens,  at 
this,  and  be  ye  horribly  afraid ! 

And  ever  since,  wherever  His  Gospel  is  preached  and 
His  cross  uplifted.  His  mercy  is  rejected,  the  offers  of 
His  dying  love  are  disdained,  nor  does  the  holy  and 
exalted  name  of  Jesus  cease  to  be  bandied  as  a  play- 
thing and  a  by-word  in  bold  blasphemers'  mouths. 

But,  brethren,  the  scene  ere  long  shall  change.  Let 
us  hear  the  testimony  of  Scripture  to  His  second  glori- 
ous advent  to  judgment.  To  the  disciples  who  stood  on 
the  mount  following  His  receding  form  as  it  vanished 
through  the  blue  heavens  and  ascended  to  God's  right 
hand,  a  delegation  from  the  skies  said,  "Ye  men  of 
Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven?  This 
same  Jesus  which  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven 
shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  go 
into  heaven."  (He  Himself  said  to  His  earthly  judges, 
"Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  of  power  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.")  Yes,  this  Jesus  who  was  shamefully  en- 
treated and  crucified,  this  Jesus  whose  claims  are  now 


24  Sermons 

despised  perhaps  by  some  in  this  assembly,  this  same 
Jesus  shall  come  again.  He  shall  come,  but  not  to 
bleed.  He  shall  come,  but  not  to  suffer  shame  and  die. 
"Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall 
see  Him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  Him,  and  all 
kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  Him.  Even 
so.  Amen."  He  comes,  surrounded  by  dense  colunms 
of  angels,  and  the  palm-bearing  host  of  a  triumphant 
church.  He  comes,  attended  by  the  floating  ensigns  of 
salvation  and  the  trophies  of  victory  wrenched  from 
Satan,  Death,  and  Hell.  He  comes,  heralded  by  the 
chant  of  armies,  the  thrilling  call  of  trumpets  and  the 
shout  that  wakes  the  dead. 

"Lo,  He  comes  with   clouds  descending, 
Once  for  favored  sinners  slain; 
Thousand,  thousand  saints  attending. 
Swell  the  triumph  of  His  train. 

Hallelujah ! 
Jesus  comes,  and  comes  to  reign.'' 

Oh,  how  changed  from  the  estate  of  His  humiliation ! 
Once  the  crown  of  thorns  was  wreathed  around  His 
temples;  now  on  His  brow  flashes  the  mediatorial 
diadem.  Once  His  hands  were  nailed  to  the  accursed 
tree;  now  the  right  hand  of  His  omnipotence  grasps  a 
thousand  thunder-shafts  and  wields  the  •  sceptre  of 
universal  and  resistless  sway.  Once  without  a  home 
He  lay  in  the  midnight  air  and  His  head  was  wet  with 
the  dews  and  frosts  of  heaven ;  now  He  sits  in  majesty 
on  the  great  white  throne,  canopied  with  clouds  and 
girdled  wnth  embattled  cherubim.  Once  the  silent  tear 
of  anguish  trickled  down^  His  pallid  face ;  now^  see ! 


Girardeau  25 

before  His  withering  frown  the  shrinking  earth  and 
heavens  haste  to  flee  away. 

"The  Lord,  the  Judge,  before  His  throne 
Bids  the  whole  earth  draw  nigh; 
The  nations  near  the  rising  sun. 
And  near  the  western  sky. 

No  more  shall  bold  blasphemers  say, 

Judgment  will  ne'er  begin  ; 
No  more  abuse  His  long  delay 

To  insolence  and  sin.  • 

Throned  on  a  cloud  our  God  shall  come. 
Bright  flames  prepare  His  way; 

Thunder  and  darkness,  fire  and  storm, 
Lead  on  the  dreadful  day. 

Heaven  from  above  His  call  shall  hear. 

Attending  angels  come; 
And  earth  and  hell  shall  know  and  fear 

His  justice  and  their  doom." 

III.  Let  us  now  consider  some  of  the  awful  circum- 
stances which  will  accompany  and  aggrandize  that  day 
of  last  account.  But  how  shall  we  describe  them? 
What  tongue  can  tell,  what  mind  conceive,  the  glory 
and  the  pomp,  the  agitation,  tumult  and  alarm,  the 
surprise,  the  joy,  the  woe,  which  shall  mark  that  "great 
day  for  which  all  other  days  were  made"?  Let  us 
approach  the  fearful  subject  with  the  lamp  of  Scrip- 
ture in  our  hand. 

We  are  taught  that  no  signal  will  forewarn  the 
nations  of  the  coming  of  that  day,  and  that  none  shall 


26  Sermons 

suspect  it  nigh  until  it  bursts  upon  the  world.  Secretly 
and  furtively  will  the  grand  consummation  draw  on. 
The  world  will  be  engaged,  as  it  ever  has  been,  at  its 
business  and  its  pleasures.  "As  the  days  of  Noah 
were,  so  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be.  For 
as  in  the  days  of  Xoah  they  were  eating  and  drinking, 
marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that 
Xoah  entered  into  the  ark  and  knew  not  until  the  flood 
came  and  took  them  all  away,  so  shall  also  the  coming 
of  the  Son  of  Man  be."  None  shall  know  that  the 
great  day  is  at  hand.  All  will  be  busied  about  their 
several  '  employments.  The  infidel  will  be  saying, 
"AVhere  is  the  promise  of  Plis  coming?  For  since  the 
fathers  fell  asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world."  The  student  will  be 
closeted  with  his  books,  poring  over  the  pages  of  some 
favorite  author,  or  absorbed  in  the  attempt  to  unravel 
some  intricate  argument.  The  merchant  will  be  post- 
ing up  his  accounts,  or  anxiously  calculating  the  issue 
of  some  grand  speculation.  The  farmer  will  be  riding 
over  his  crop,  or  congratulating  himself  on  the  fullness 
of  his  barns  and  the  plenty  of  the  succeeding  year.  The 
politician  will  be  wrapped  up  in  the  perusal  of  some 
recent  intelligence,  or  striving  after  a  higher  pinnacle 
of  fame.  The  military  chieftain  will  be  pushing  his 
conquests  with  all  "the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war." 
The  bridegroom  will  be  rejoicing  over  his  bride,  the 
mother  over  her  new-born  infant,  and  the  mourner  will 
be  following  the  remains  of  a  departed  relative  towards 
a  last  house  which  they  shall  never  occupy.  Senates 
will  be  convened,  courts  sitting,  travel  rushing,  com- 
merce driving,  and  the  ocean  whitened  with  many  a 
sail. 


Girardeau  27 

In  one  jDart  of  the  world  the  silence  of  midnight  is 
reigning,  save  where  it  is  broken  by  the  music  and  the 
laugh  of  some  festive  throng.  In  another  is  the  bustle 
and  stir  of  busy  noon,  or  the  clash  of  contending  armies 
on  the  ensanguined  field.  In  another  the  shadows  of 
evening  are  lengthening,  the  sun  is  setting  no  more  to 
rise,  and  the  evening  star  is  shining  with  peerless 
radiance  for  the  last  time  upon  a  doomed  world ;  while 
in  yet  another,  the  early  bird  is  waking  the  dawn,  the 
dew  yet  gems  the  grass,  and  the  sunrise  is  bursting  in 
glory  as  it  broke  on  that  clear  morning  when  Sodom 
was  fired  from  heaven.  All  will  be  unconscious  of 
approaching  danger;  when  of  a  sudden,  in  a  moment, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  a  thunder-burst  breaks  over 
the  world  and  rocks  the  pillars  of  the  earth.  Hark, 
that  terrific  sound !  The  blast  of  the  trump  of  God 
peals  from  the  stv^,  is  sw^ept  on  the  wings  of  mighty 
winds  towards  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  pene- 
trates ten  thousand  burial  grounds,  and  startles  ''the 
dull,  cold  ear"  of  the  quiet  sleepers  there. 

"Doubling  along  the  arch  the  mighty  peal 
To  heaven  resounds.    Hell  returns  a  groan; 
And  shuddering  earth  a  moment  reels  confounded 
From  her  fixed  pathw^ay,  as  the  staggering  ship, 
Stunned  by  some  mountain  billow,  reels.    The  isles 
With  heaving  ocean  rock :  the  mountains  shake 
Their  ancient  coronets :  the  avalanche 
Thunders :  silence  succeeds  throughout  the  nations. 
Earth  never  listened  to  a  sound  like  this ; 
It  strikes  the  general  pulse  of  nature  still. 
And  breaks  forever  the  dull  sleep  of  death."^ 

^James  Hillhouse's  Judgment,  accommodated  as  to  tense. 


28  Sermons 

At  that  all-arousing  summons  the  sceptic  swallows 
his  cavils,  the  student  starts  up  from  his  books,  the 
merchant  forsakes  his  accounts,  the  farmer  forgets  his 
harvest  and  his  barns,  the  politician  wakes  up  from 
his  day-dreams  of  preferment,  the  warrior  relaxes  his 
grasp  upon  his  blade,  the  bridegroom  hurls  his  faint- 
ing bride  from  his  embrace,  the  mother  drops  from 
her  bosom  her  new-born  babe,  the  mourner  neglects 
the  last  offices  of  humanity,  Senates  rise  in  confusion, 
and  courts  adjourn  to  meet  no  more.  At  that  dread 
alarm  the  wheels  of  nature  stop;  the  flight  of  time  is 
arrested ;  Death,  in  mid-career,  reins  up  his  pale  horse 
and  drops  the  fatal  shaft. 

And  now  what  ominous  sights  appear !  Above  the 
firmament  is  cleaving  asunder,  and  through  the  awful 
rent  beam  the  glories  of  the  invisible  world,  while  "the 
Lord  Himself  descends  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with 
the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of 
God."  "And,  lo,  a  mighty  angel  coiries  down  from 
heaven  clothed  with  a  cloud  and  a  rainbow  on  his  head, 
and  his  face  as  it  were  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars 
of  fire;  and  standing  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the 
earth,  lifts  up  his  hand  to  heaven  and  swears  by  Him 
that  liveth  forever  and  ever  that  there  shall  be  time  no 
longer,"  Awful  announcement!  The  changes  and 
notations  of  this  sublunary  scene  will  cease;  the  sweet 
vicissitudes  of  morning  and  evening  fail,  and  the  sea- 
sons roll  no  more.  The  days  and  weeks,  the  months  and 
years  of  an  evangelical  probation  shall  revolve  no  lon- 
ger, and  man  will  enter  upon  the  measureless  duration 
of  eternity.  Thenceforward  naught  will  remain  but 
two  unchanging  forms  of  existence — an  unbroken 
sabbatism,  or  an  endless  funeral  of  the  soul. 


Girardeau  29 

The  hour  is  come  when  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  and  come  forth ;  they 
that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and 
they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation.  Behold  the  stupendous  scene!  The  dead 
are  rising!  From  every  part  of  this  vast  charnal- 
house  the  victims  of  death  are  awaking  from  their 
long  sleep,  and  obey  the  summons  which  commands 
them  into  the  presence  of  their  Judge.  Magnificent 
mausoleums  are  bursting,  in  which  lie  inurned  the 
ashes  of  sceptred  monarchs;  moss-covered  sepulchres 
are  cleaving,  beneath  which  moulder  the  remains  of 
priests  and  high-priests,  nobles  and  princes,  legislators 
and  warriors,  philosophers,  orators,  and  poets;  while 
the  grass-grown  mounds  under  which  the  slave  and  the 
peasant  repose  in  death  are  not  disobedient  to  the 
heavenly  call.  From  dim  cathedral  aisles,  from  every 
crowded  churchyard,  from  forest  burying  grounds, 
from  profoundest  ocean  depths,  the  long- forgotten  dead 
are  starting  into  new,  immortal  being  amidst  the  thrill- 
ing realities  of  the  judgment  day,  ^  The  solitary  traveler 
rises  from  the  lonely  grave  which  he  found  in  a  land 
far  distant  from  home;  while  from  the  narrow  beds  in 
which  they  slept  side  by  side  in  the  populous  cemetery 
whole  families  rise  together.  The  father  sees  his 
children  again,  the  husband  extends  to  his  wife  the. 
salutations  of  the  resurrection  morning,  and  the  mother 
once  more  clasps  in  her  arms  the  babe  that  had  slum- 
bered with  her  in  the  same  grave,  and  mingled  its  dust 
with  hers. 

And  now  the  throne  is  set,  the  Supreme  Arbiter  of 
destiny  assumes  His  ^eat,  the  books  are  opened,  and 
mankind  are  convened  for  judgment.  "And  I  saw  a 
great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it  from  whose 


30  Sermons 

face  the  earth  and  the  heavens  fled  away.    And  I  saw 
the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God."     All 
who  have  ever  lived,  and  all  who  will  live  to  the  farth- 
est bounds  of  time,  will  be  assembled  before  the  judg- 
ment seat  by  angels  who  will  act  as  marshals  of  the 
final  day.     From  our  first  parents  to  the  babe  which 
shall  draw  the  earliest  breath  of  life  on  the  resurrec- 
tion morning  and  shall  hear  at  the  same  moment  the 
first  endearing  word  from  its  mother's  lips  and  the 
awful  voice  of  the  archangel, — all  will  be  there.     Not 
one  of  earth's  unnumbered  millions  shall  be  absent 
from  the  dread  assize.    Patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apos- 
tles, kings  with  their  subjects,  masters  with  their  ser- 
vants, parents  with  their  children,  ministers  with  their 
flocks,  the  goodly  company  of  confessors  and  the  noble 
army  of  martyrs, — all  will  be  there.    Pagans,  Moham- 
medans and  Christians,  sceptics,  infidels  and  atheists, — 
all  will  be  there.     The  pale-faced  Caucasian,  the  red 
rover  of  the  forest,  the  yellow  Mongolian,   and  the 
swarthy  Ethiopian, — all,  all  will  there.     Band  after 
band,    throng    upon    throng,    nations    massed    upon 
nations,  with  a  sound  like  the  deep  and  hollow  roar  of 
a  storm-lashed  ocean,  they  will  crowd  to  the  rendezvous 
of  being  and  stand  before  the  final  bar. 

"In  one  vast  conflux  rolled. 
Wave  following  wave,  are  men  of  every  age. 
Nation  and  tongue :  all  hear  the  warning  blast, 
And  led  by  wondrous  impulse  hither  come." 

Nor  shall  devils  be  absent  from  that  trial.  Hell  shall 
disgorge  itself  of  its  inhabitants ;  the  doors  of  the  eter- 
nal prison,  grating  harsh  thunder,  shall  swing  open  for 
egress  to  the  desperate  and  innumerable  mob.     Rising 


Girardeau  31 

with  the  gloomy  vapors  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
clanking  their  everlasting  chains,  countless  legions  of 
lost  angels  shall  press  upward,  and  driven  by  almighty 
power  shall  be  forced  to  join  the  great  assembly  and 
await  the  sentence  of  their  doom. 

Come  with  me  in  imagination,  my  hearers,  as  erelong 
you  must  in  reality,  to  that  scene  which  shall  be  pre- 
sented before  the  tribunal  of  judgment.  How  unspeak- 
ably solemn  !  A  world  in  one  vast  congregation  !  See, 
multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision ! 
Farther  than  the  eye  can  reach  extends  a  boundless  sea 
of  human  beings,  swayed  to  and  fro  with  new  and 
unutterable  feelings.  Before  the  august  Judge  are 
gathered  all  nations,  and  He  proceeds  to  separate  them 
one  from  another  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from 
the  goats.  He  sets  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand,  but 
the  goats  on  the  left.  All  human  and  perishing  distinc- 
tions are  swept  away.  The  mask  is  torn  from  hypoc- 
risy, the  veil  stripped  from  secrecy,  the  paint  and  var- 
nish expunged  from  the  face  of  deceit.  Missed  are 
the  strut  and  fret  of  "a  little  brief  authority."  The 
tiara,  the  mitre  and  the  crosier,  the  chasuble,  stole  and 
cowl  are  looked  for  in  vain.  The  tinselled  insignia  of 
rank  and  the  gilded  baubles  of  nobility,  the  arms  of 
heraldry  and  the  stars  and  crosses  of  honor  are  rent 
away  from  human  beings,  and  leave  them  to  appear  as 
they  are — "naked,  unvarnished,  unappendaged  men." 
The  standards,  ensigns,  and  gonfalons  of  earthly  pa- 
rade float  not  in  the  air  of  the  judgment  morn.  Beauty, 
wealth,  and  power,  gifts,  talents,  and  fame, — of  what 
avail  are  they  now  without  true  and  heartfelt  religion  ? 
The  righteous  and  the  wicked,  the  followers  and  the 
foes  of  Christ, — these  are  the  only  distinctions  which 
have  a  place  in  that  overwhelming  presence. 


32  Sermons 

Each  one  of  that  iniiuense  concourse  is  seen.  Each 
one  is  known.  Each  one  must  give  account  of  himself 
to  God.  No  one  shall  share  responsibility  with  his 
fellows.  Xo  one  shall  shield  himself  behind  the  instruc- 
tion, the  counsel,  the  example  of  others;  no  one  shall 
coA'er  himself  with  the  skirt  of  minister,  parent  or 
friend.  Families  are  sundered:  individuals  are  parted 
from  individuals  by  a  discrimination  awfully  search- 
ing and  particular.  Oh.  what  a  sifting !  Jehovah's 
fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  winnows  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat:  he  gathers  the  wheat  into  his  garner,  and  con- 
signs the  chaff  to  unquenchal^le  fire. 

Xow  is  the  day  of  full  redemption  come  to  those  who 
served  their  Lord  amidst  temptations,  trials,  and  fears, 
and  waited  and  prayed  and  longed  for  His  second  glo- 
rious appearing.  Clad  in  Jesus"  righteousness,  washed 
in  Jesus'  blood,  pleading  Jesus'  atoning  merits,  they 
stand  at  His  right  hand  and  look  into  His  smiling 
face.  "Come,"  saith  the  King.  **Come,  ye  blessed  of 
My  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  For  I  was  an 
hungered  and  ye  gave  Me  meat:  I  was  thirsty  and  ye 
gave  Me  drink :  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  Me  in : 
naked  and  ye  clothed  Me :  I  was  sick  and  in  prison  and 
ve  came  unto  Me.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these.  My  brethren,  ye  have  done 
it  unto  Me.''  ''Enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord." 
O  welcome  word  I  O  thrice  happy  souls  I  Their  tribu- 
lation is  past,  their  conflict  with  the  world,  the  flesh 
and  the  Devil  is  ended,  the  narrow  way  has  all  benn 
trod,  death,  their  last  enemy,  is  conquered,  and  not  one 
of  them  remains  a  tenant  of  the  grave.  The  last  battle 
has  been  fought,  the  last  sin  has  been  committed,  the 
last  tear  is  wiped  away.    The  world's  laugh  and  froAvn 


Girardeau  33 

are  alike  no  more.  No  more  the  cross,  the  fire  and  the 
stake.  No  more  the  chain,  the  dungeon  and  the  rack. 
Shout,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  shout !  For  yours  are 
harps  of  gold,  crowns  of  righteousness,  the  beatific 
vision  of  God,  and  the  celestial  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away. 

Now  do  all  Christ's  people  meet  each  other  at  His 
right  hand.  The  sundered  ties  of  earth  are  recon- 
structed; and  the  scattered  fragments  of  families  are 
re-gathered  into  a  union  no  more  to  be  broken  forever. 
Wliat  passionate  embraces  !  Wliat  mutual  congratula- 
tions !  WHiat  ecstacies  of  joy !  Glorious  day  when  the 
whole  blood-bought  Church  of  the  Eedeemer  meet  for 
the  first  time  in  His  immediate  presence ! 

But,  alas !  across  yonder  dividing  line  stand  the 
wretched  children  of  doom.  Their  visages  are  clouded 
with  the  horrors  of  despair.  They  are  torn  by  an  irre- 
sistible hand  from  the  companionship  of  the  godly  and 
the  consolations  of  hope.  O,  fellow-sinners,  take  warn- 
ing in  time  and  forecast  that  day.  How  will  ungodly 
parents  part  with  those  who  wxre  their  children  in  the 
flesh,  but  who  became  the  children  of  God  in  the 
spirit?  How  will  unconverted  children  part  with 
pious  and  sainted  parents  ?  How  will  they  endure  that 
final  clasping  of  hands  and  tliose  everlasting  farewells  ? 
How  will  hardened  sinners  look  in  the  face  the  minis- 
ters of  Christ  who  besought  them  in  vain  to  seek  salva- 
tion in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  who  were  driven  by 
their  refusals  to  weep  in  secret  places  over  their  pride? 
How  will  every  sermon  stare  them  in  the  face,  and 
every  broken  Sabbath  bear  swift  witness  against  them  ? 
How  will  the  infidel,  the  sceptic,  and  the  persecuting 
inquisitor  look  upon  that  abused  and  calumniated  Bible 
that  now  lies  open  on  the  judgment-seat  as  the  law  by 


34  Sermons 

which  they  are  judged?  Eesisted  it,  opposed  it,  slan- 
dered it,  burnt  it,  they  may  once  have  done,  but  con- 
front it  they  must  now,  as  God's  unbroken  and  eternal 
word.  How  will  the  despisers  of  conscience  meet  its 
testimony  before  the  final  bar?  How  will  it  rise  upon 
them  like  a  strong  man  armed,  and  thrust  its  unerring 
finger  at  them,  and  charge  them  with  their  forgotten 
but  now  resuscitated  sins?  Hidden  motives  that  lay 
down  in  the  foundations  of  the  soul,  shameful  thoughts 
and  feelings  that  were  screened  from  human  eye  in  the 
secret  chambers  of  the  spirit,  deeds  of  wickedness  per- 
petrated in  the  darkness  of  night,— lo !  they  are  now 
dragged  forth  into  light  and  divulged  before  an  assem- 
bled world.  When  God  manifests  Himself  and  pours 
the  insufferable  glory  of  His  holiness,  justice,  and  law 
upon  the  trembling  sinner  at  the  bar.  His  heart  will 
melt  within  him  like  wax  in  the  devouring  flame.  To 
hypocrites  and  false  professors  of  religion  is  fulfilled 
that  fearful  word  of  Christ:  "Many  shall  say  to  Me 
in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord;  and  then  will  I  profess  unto 
them,  I  never  knew  you."  Too  late  will  they  wake  up 
to  the  consciousness  of  their  fatal  mistake.  Standing 
with  a  lie  in  their  right  hands  before  the  judgment- 
seat,  what  infinite  disappointment,  chagrin  and  horror 
seize  their  souls  when  they  find  that  "there  is  a  way  to 
hell  even  from  the  gates  of  heaven." 

Ye  lascivious  and  unclean,  malicious  and  uncharita- 
ble, ye  Sabbath-breakers  and  defrauders,  how  will  ye 
stand  before  the  majesty  of  that  fiery  law  which  once 
broke  in  flashes  from  the  thick  darkness  of  Sinai's 
mount,  but  now  blazes  in  consuming  brightness  and 
terrific  wrath?  And  O  ye  rejecters  of  Christ,  how  can 
ye  confront  Him  who  sits  as  your  Judge  with  the 


Girardeau  35 

print  of  the  nails  in  His  hands  and  feet  and  of  the 
spear  which  cleft  His  heart  in  twain? 

"Yonder  sits  my  slighted  Savior, 

With  the  marks  of  dying  love ; 

Oh,  that  I  had  sought  His  favor 

When  I  felt  His  Spirit  move ! 

Golden  moments, 
A\Tien  I  felt  His  Spirit  move !" 

He  offered  you  His  Gospel ;  you  refused  it.  He  ten- 
dered you  His  hand ;  you  thrust  it  from  you.  He  shed 
His  tears  over  you ;  you  trampled  them  under  feet  and 
counted  His  most  j)recious  blood  as  an  unholy  thing. 
Salvation  !  Salvation  !  How  unspeakably  important 
will  you  then  deem  it?  How  will  paleness  bespread 
your  faces  and  trembling  make  your  knees  to  smite 
together?  AVhat  groans  of  anguish  will  rend  your 
hearts  ?  Whsit  tears  of  blood  will  you  weep  ?  And  are 
they  gone?  The  Sabbath,  the  Bible,  the  preacher,  the 
mercy-seat,  the  Gospel, — are  they  all  clean  gone  for- 
ever? Yea,  poor  sinner,  and  Christ  is  gone,  and  the 
Spirit  of  grace  is  gone,  and  heaven  is  gone,  and  hope, 
that  was  wont  to  gild  the  fiercest  storm  with  rays  of 
light,  hope  that  made  even  the  thought  of  death,  judg- 
ment and  eternity  tolerable,  hope  too  is  gone  forever. 
And  come  is  judgment,  come  is  divine  vengeance,  come 
is  the  blackness  of  darkness  and  the  second  death.  And 
is  it  come  to  this,  that  Jesus  the  merciful  Saviour,  who 
so  loved  sinners  that  He  wept  and  bled  for  them,  must 
now  pronounce  their  doom  ?  Must  those  lips  that  were 
wont  to  speak  in  blessing  utter  irrevocable  curses  on 
their  souls  ?  Alas  for  them  !  In  tones  of  deepest  thun- 
der Jesus  shall  say,  "Depart,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire  prepared  for  the  Devil  and  his  angels." 


36  Sermons 

The  sentences  of  destiny  are  pronounced;  but  look, 
what  rising  light  is  that  which  sheds  a  lurid  glare  over 
the  vast  assembly,  throw^s  a  ruddy  tint  upon  the 
blanched  countenances  of  the  doomed,  and  crimsons 
the  face  of  the  great  white  throne?  'Tis  the  world  on 
fire !  The  atmosphere  ablaze  wraps  the  earth  in  a 
winding-sheet  of  flame,  immense  volumes  of  smoke  roll 
upward  and  dim  the  lights  of  heaven;  the  sun  is  turned 
into  darkness,  the  moon  into  blood,  and  the  stars  are 
falling  like  untimely  figs.  From  mountain  top  to 
mountain  top  the  flames  are  leaping  and  playing,  while 
a  deluge  of  fire  sweeps  across  the  face  of  nature  whelm- 
ing cities,  towns  and  villages  in  its  sea-like  swell  and 
roll.  Water  which  quences  fire  is  itself  devoured; 
oceans  are  licked  up  and  dried  to  their  beds  like  the 
water  in  the  trench  around  Elijah's  altar  in  the  minor 
judgment-day  of  Carmel. 

Alas !  will  there  be  no  wailing  voices  to  chant  a  fit- 
ting death  h^nnn  for  a  doomed  and  dying  world  ?  Will 
no  kindred  planet  in  the  solar  family,  as  it  gazes  upon 
the  dread  disaster,  veil  its  lustre  and  clothe  itself  in 
mourning  for  a  sister  orb  ?  Once  it  was  a  sanctuary  of 
praise,  a  theatre  of  glory,  a  paradise  of  charms.  The 
morning  stars  sang  together  its  natal  hymn,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  jo}^,  when,  adorned  by  the 
hand  of  its  Maker  as  the  home  of  holiness,  it  took  its 
co-ordinate  place  in  the  society  of  shining  worlds,  and 
helped  to  swell  the  doxology  pealing  in  God's  ear  from 
the  grand  harmonies  of  the  universe.  But  Sin  entered, 
and  Death  followed  after.  They  converted  it  into  an 
Aceldama  of  blood  and  a  Golgotha  of  bones,  and  at 
last  dissolve  its  fair  and  beautiful  proportions  in  a  uni- 
versal sea  of  flame.  Pale  now,  and  paler  yet.  wanes  the 
light  of  the  direful  conflagration.     Earth  utters  her 


Girardeau  37 

expiring  groans  in  rumbling  detonations  from  her 
deepest  caverns;  and  reiterated  thunders  of  mighty 
explosions  seem  the  volleying  discharges  of  God's  artil- 
lery at  the  funeral  of  a  world. 

A  few  words  more  and  I  shall  strain  your  attention 
no  longer  to  this  awful,  yet  delightful  theme.  The 
judicial  process  ends;  the  books  are  closed,  the  Judge 
rises,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  world  adjourns. 
The  separate  destinies  of  human  beings  are  now 
evolved.  Collected  around  the  person  of  their  glorious 
Lord,  the  jubilant  saints  begin  their  triumphal  march 
to  the  portals  of  their  heavenly  home.  Onward  they 
sweep  in  majestic  array,  hallelujahs  are  bursting  from 
every  lip,  and  as  they  come  in  view  of  the  shining 
gates,  hark !  they  sing :  "Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the 
King  of  glory  shall  come  in!''  And.  again,  as  in  the 
ascension  from  Olivet  of  the  \'ictor  of  sin,  death  and 
hell,  the  challenge  of  angelic  sentries  is  shouted  from 
the  battlements  of  heaven:  "Who  is  this  King  of 
glory?"  And  then  the  response  is  rolled  back  in  thun- 
der from  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  voices :  "The 
Lord,  strong  and  mighty,  the  Lord  mighty  in  battle, 
the  Lord  of  hosts.  He  is  the  King  of  glory.  Lift  up 
your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  even  lift  them  up,  ye  everlast- 
ing doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in!" 

It  is  enough.  They  enter,  they  pass  beneath  the 
arches  of  triumph,  they  tread  the  golden  streets  of  the 
New  Jerusalem  lined  the  while  with  dense  ranks  of 
angels  who  cheer  the  conquerors  home.  They  seat  their 
Saviour-King  in  glory  on  Mount  Zion,  and  massing, 
massing,  massing  before  the  eternal  throne  they  pros- 
trate themselves  in  adoring  ^.■orship  of  the  Triune  God 
and  cry :    "Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God  of  hosts !" 


38  Sermons 

Then  rising  and  waving  their  palms  of  victory  in  the 
morning  air  of  an  endless  day,  with  a  sound  like  the 
noise  of  many  waters,  or  the  voice  of  mighty  thunder- 
ings, — hark,  they  chant  again:  "Glory  and  honor  and 
power,  and  might  and  dominion,  and  wisdom  and 
thanksgiving  and  blessing  be  unto  Him  that  sits  upon 
the  throne  and  unto^  the  Lamb  forever ! "  Redemption 
is  completed,  and  the  pauseless  chorus  of  everlasting 
praise  begins. 

"Jerusalem,  my  happy  home, 
Name  ever  dear  to  me; 
When  shall  my  labors  have  an  end 
In  joy  and  peace  and  Thee? 

O  mother,  dear,  Jerusalem, 
My  soul  still  pants  for  thee; 

Then  shall  my  labors  have  an  end 
"When  I  thy  joys  shall  see." 

Would  that  we  could  say  this  is  all :  this  is  the  glori- 
ous destiny  of  an  unsevered  and  unmutilated  race ! 
But  from  the  left  hand  of  the  judgment-bar  a  funeral 
procession  of  lost  human  beings,  in  the  train  of  devils, 
slowly  and  reluctantly  wend  their  way  to  the  frowning 
gates  of  hell.  They  defile  through  those  gloomy  por- 
tals over  which  despair  reads  the  fatal  legend :  "They 
who  enter  here  leave  hope  behind."  The  irrefragable 
bolts  of  the  eternal  jail  are  shot  by  penal  justice  behind 
them;  and  between  them  and  a  lost  and  irrecoverable 
paradise  yawn  the  terrific  jaws  of  an  uncrossable 
chasm — a  gulf  wide,  deep,  and  dark  as  starless  mid- 
night, save  as  the  profound  abyss  is  gilded  by  some 
mocking  rays  that  may  straggle  into  it  from  a  far- 
distant  and  inaccessible  glory. 


Girardeau  39 


SANGTIFIGATION  BY  GRACE 

Romans  6:1,  2.  '"''What  shall  we  say  then?  Shall 
we  continve  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound?  God  for- 
hid.  How  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin  live  any  longer 
therein?'''' 

The  Apostle  Paul,  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this 
epistle,  had  opened  the  great  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
grace  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  the 
three  first  chapters  he  shows  negatively  how  the  sinner 
cannot  be  justified;  in  the  latter  part  of  the  third  and 
in  the  fourth  he  indicates  the  only  ground  upon  which 
he  can  be  justified,  and  in  the  fifth  points  out  the 
method  by  which  the  scheme  of  justification  is  applied. 

He  first  proves,  by  an  appeal  to  fact,  the  entire  de- 
pravity of  all  mankind,  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  and 
their  consequent  inability  to  bring  forth  a  righteous- 
ness by  which  they  should  be  justified.  But  while  all 
are  thus  incapacitated  to  furnish  a  justifying  right- 
eousness, God  in  mercy  reveals  a  plan  by  which  He 
may  be  just.,  and  yet  the  justifyer  of  him  who  belie veth 
in  Jesus.  This  plan  sets  aside  the  works  of  the  sinner 
as  a  platform  of  justification,  and  shuts  him  up  to  the 
acceptance  of  a  righteousness  provided  by  God  Him- 
self. The  righteousness  which  is  thus  graciously  pro- 
vided is  entirely  exclusive  of  works  and  is  received  by  a 

Note. — This  sermon  was  prepared  as  a  trial  sermon  for  ordination. 
It  was  written  when  the  author  was  in  his  twenty-fourth  year  ;  and 
is  inserted  here,  not  to  increase  his  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator, 
but  to  show  his  early  conception  of  what  a  sermon  ought  to  be ; 
and  because  it  represents  his  theological  views  at  the  beginning  of 
his  ministry.  While  the  style  and  manner  of  treatment  smacks  of 
the  seminary  student  it  also  prophesies  the  great  preacher. 


40  Sermons 

simple  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Not  being  his 
own,  but  having  been  wrought  out  by  Christ,  the  only 
way  in  which  it  becomes  available  to  the  sinner  is  by 
virtue  of  a  legal  imputation.  He,  and  only  he,  to  whom 
this  righteousness  is  thus  legally  accounted  as  his  own, 
can  be  accepted  and  justified  by  God.  In  the  chapter 
immediately  preceding  that  from  which  the  text  is 
taken,  the  apostle  points  out  the  channel  through  which 
this  imputation  flows,  the  specific  method  by  which  the 
system  of  saving  grace  is. actually  applied.  This  he 
designates  as  the  federal  relation  in  which  the  sinner 
stands  to  his  surety,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  As  a  fed- 
eral connection  with  Adam  in  the  covenant  of  works 
was  the  ground  upon  which  his  guilt  is  imputed  to  his 
natural  posterity — so  a  federal  connection  with  Christ 
in  the  covenant  of  grace  is  the  ground  upon  which  His 
righteousness  is  imputed  to  His  spiritual  seed.  As  nat- 
ural birth  is  the  designation  of  those  upon  whom  the 
covenant  of  works  takes  effect,  so  spiritural  birth  is  the 
designation  of  those  upon  whom  the  covenant  of  grace 
takes  effect.  And  as  in  the  covenant  of  works,  we  be- 
come connected  with  Adam  not  by  any  personal  suf- 
frage of  our  own,  but  by  the  sovereign  appointment  of 
an  all-wise  God — so  in  the  covenant  of  grace  we  be- 
come connected  with  Christ — not  primarily  by  a  per- 
sonal act  of  ours,  but  by  virtue  of  an  eternal  purpose  of 
grace.  The  whole  plan,  then,  upon  which  the  sinner  is 
justified  is  obviously  gratuitous.  Destitute  of  the  abil- 
ity to  furnish  an  acceptable  righteousness,  he  is  neces- 
sarily destitute  of  merit.  He  is  therefore  saved,  if 
saved  at  all,  upon  a  principle  of  mere  grace.  The 
apostle,  in  the  next  place,  anticipates,  in  the  words  of 
the  text,  the  objection  which  in  one  point  of  view  would 
be  naturally  rendered  by  the  carnal  heart  to  the  system 


Girardeau  41 

of  grace  which  he  had  propounded  and  the  abuses 
which  in  another  would  be  made  of  it.  The  misappre- 
hension of  his  meaning  is  briefly  this :  If,  as  you  affirm, 
we  are  justified  and  saved  irrespectively  of  our  own 
works,  then  by  consequence  it  is  not  necessary  for  us 
to  work  at  all.  In  fact,  the  less  of  our  own  works  there, 
be  the  more  glory  upon  this  gratuitous  scheme  will  ac- 
crue to  God,  and  if  we  continue  in  sin  there  will  be  an 
opportunity  afforded  for  a  more  abundant  and  illus- 
trious display  of  grace.  Two  parties  would  be  dis- 
posed to  use  this  language  in  reference  to  the  apostle's 
doctrine;  the  Legalist  who  would  be  unwilling  to 
receive  it,  as  in  that  case  he  would  be  constrained  for- 
ever to  forego  his  legal  dependencies ;  and  the  Autino- 
mian  who  would  gladly  adopt  it  inasmuch  as  he  regards 
it  as  removing  every  barrier  to  licentiousness,  and 
affording  a  premium  to  crime.  The  answer  of  the 
apostle,  commenced  in  the  text  and  carried  on  in  the 
succeeding  verses,  is  clear  and  full :  "How  shall  we 
that  are  dead  to  sin  live  any  longer  therein?" 

The  force  of  this  reply  lies,  we  conceive,  in  the  con- 
struction placed  upon  the  phrase,  "dead  to  sin."  Of 
these  words,  different  interpretations  have  been  given. 
By  one  class  of  commentators  the  expression  "dead  to 
sin"  is  regarded  as  synonymous  with  dead  to  the  power 
of  sin.  How  shall  we  who  are  dead  to  the  power  of 
sin,  who  profess  to  have  had  our  lusts  and  sins  crucified 
with  Christ,  indulge  in  the  commission  of  sin?  Our 
sins  have  been  nailed  to  Christ's  cross,  and  shall,  there- 
fore, have  no  more  dominion  over  us.  But  although 
this  be  partially  true,  the  apostle's  argument  is  not 
presented  in  a  right  point  of  view.  For  if  this  exposi- 
tion be  adopted,  it  seems  that  he  would  have  contra- 
dicted his  own  doctrine  laid  down  so  forcibly  in  the 


42  Sermons 

seventh  chapter  of  this  epistle  and  confirmed  by  the 
concurrent  testimony  of  other  passages  of  Scripture 
by  which  we  are  taught  that  the  believer,  although  con- 
stantly advancing  in  holiness,  still  never  attains  that 
state  in  which  he  may  say  that  he  is  dead  to  the  'power 
oi  sin.  The  conflict  between  the  new  nature  and  the  still 
indwelling  old  nature  is  hushed  only  in  the  silence  of 
death — in  that  solemn  moment  when  the  immortal 
spirit  ceases  to  be  a  tenant  of  its  mortal  tabernacle,  and, 
therefore,  ceases  to  be  exposed  through  the  avenues  of 
the  senses  to  the  inroads  of  temptation. 

Further,  if  this  interpretation  be  adopted,  the  answer 
of  the  apostle,  as  an  argument,  loses  its  weight.  For 
to  be  dead  to  the  power  of  sin  is  to  cease  to  live  in  the 
indulgence  of  sin.  If  this  be  the  apostle's  meaning, 
then  the  question  would  thus  resolve  itself :  How  shall 
we  who  no  longer  live  in  sin,  live  any  longer  therein? 
The  force  of  the  reply,  we  apprehend,  consists  in  the 
fact  that  a  strong  contrast  is  drawn  between  two  oppos- 
ing states.  But,  according  to  the  exposition  under  con- 
sideration, this  contrast  is  overlooked,  and,  if  we  mis- 
take not,  the  apostle  is  made  to  assert  an  identical  pro- 
position. 

The  true  meaning  of  the  words,  "dead  to  sin,"  we 
take  to  be  dead  to  the  guilt  of  sin.  It  will  be  perceived 
that  the  word  gtiiU  is  employed  as  equivalent  to  lia- 
bility to  punishment  and  not  as  equivalent  to  moral 
turpitude. 

The  former  interpretation  has  been  supported  on  the 
ground  that  the  believer  is  often  spoken  of  in  Scripture 
as  actually  doing  what  it  is  only  meant  that  he  ought 
to  do,  and  as  actually  being  in  a  state  in  which  it  is 
only  meant  that  he  ought  to  he.  But  as  yet  the  apostle 
had  only  been  treating  of  the  justified  state  of  believers, 


Girardeau  43 

and  not  of  the  duties  which  pertain  to  sanctification  of 
life,  and  it  seems  to  us  that  his  object  in  the  present 
chapter  is  specifically  to  indicate  the  dependence  of 
sanctification  upon  the  previous  state  of  justification 
by  a  gratuitous  righteousness.  Keeping  this  in  view, 
we  are  able  to  determine  the  sense  of  the  words  "dead 
to  sin,"  and  the  force  of  the  question  in  which  the}^  are 
employed.  They  form  the  connecting  link  between  the 
consideration  of  our  justified  and  our  sanctified  states. 
They  are  the  steps  by  which  the  apostle  passes  in  the 
course  of  his  high  argument  from  the  former  to  the  lat- 
ter. The  train  of  thought  appears  to  be  this:  in  the 
covenant  of  grace  believers  are  united  to  Christ  as  their 
federal  head.  This  legal  union,  however,  under  a 
federal  constitution,  does  not  take  effect  upon  the  sinner 
until  he  is  also  sfiritnaUy  united  to  Christ.  This  is 
done  by  the  efficacious  grace  of  the  spirit  implanting  in 
his  heart  a  new  principle  of  holiness,  the  prime  element 
of  which  is  Faith.  By  means  of  this  faith  the  sinner  is 
enabled  to  apprehend  Christ  and  to  receive  the  right- 
eousness which  he  has  provided  for  all  His  federal  con- 
stituents. Faith  is  the  instrumental  medium  by  which 
the  sinner  becomes  an  actual  partaker  of  the  federal 
union  with  all  its  inestimable  blessings.  The  moment 
of  the  spiritval  is  the  precise  moment  at  which  the  fed- 
eral relation  takes  effect,  and  at  which  its  influence 
upon  the  sinner  begins  to  be  developed.  That  instant 
the  ungodly  sinner  becomes  a  justified  and  accepted  be- 
liever. His  state  is  changed.  He  has  passed  from  a 
legal  state  of  condemnation  and  bondage  to  a  legal 
state  of  justification  and  freedom.  By  virtue  of  this 
federal  and  spiritual  union  be  becomes  mystically  but 
truly  and  really  one  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He 
is  identified  with  Christ  in  law.     All  the  acts  which 


44  Sermons 

Christ  has  performed  on  his  behalf  become  putatively, 
but  not  the  less  on  that  account  substantially  his  own ; 
and  as  Christ  in  the  work  of  redemption  acts  as  a  public 
and  not  a  private  individual,  there  is  a  transfer  of  His 
active  and  passive  obedience  to  the  sinner  whom  He 
has  represented.  Consequently  whatever  Christ  did  in 
His  capacity  as  a  substitute  and  covenant  head  may 
be  properly  said  to  have  been  done  by  the  believer.  As 
Christ  lived  a  life  of  obedience  to  the  precepts  of  the 
law,  the  justified  sinner  is  regarded  in  law  as  having 
done  the  same:  and  as  Christ  died  to  satisfy  the  pen- 
alty of  the  violated  law,  the  believer  is  considered  as 
having  legally  died  with  Christ  on  the  cross.  Christ 
died  to  sin ;  that  is,  to  that  sin  which,  although  not  His 
own  by  nature,  became  His  own  by  imputation;  for  it 
is  only  in  that  sense  that  our  blessed  Lord,  who  was 
"holy,  harmless  and  undefiled,"  could  be  said  to  be  a 
sinner.  The  moral  turpitude  of  sin  could  not  have 
attached  to  Him  in  any  respect.  As  God^  His  nature  is 
immaculate  holiness,  and  as  man.  He  was  born  out  of 
the  ordinary  line  of  human  descent,  and,  therefore,  was 
not  chargeable  with  the  guHt  of  Adam's  sin,  and  con- 
sequently was  not  obnoxious  to  its  penalty — the  loss  of 
original  righteousness  and  a  positive  tendency  to  trans- 
gression. But  the  guilt  of  sin,  or  its  legal  liability  to 
punishment,  did  attach  to  Christ,  and  hence,  since  death 
is  the  punishment  of  sin,  Christ  died.  He  died  to  the 
guilt  of  sin.  The  believer,  therefore,  thus  died  to  the 
guilt  of  sin  with  Christ,  his  covenant  head.  Hence  it 
is,  we  understand  the  apostle  to  assert,  that  believers 
are  '"''dead  to  sin.''''  But  since  a  federal  union  with 
Christ  is  presupposed,  and  that  federal  union  is  indis- 
solubly  connected  with  the  spiritual  union  as  the  source 


Girardeau  45 

of  a  godly  life,  death  to  the  ijuilt  of  sin  implies  a  corre- 
sponding life  to  holiness. 

If  the  believer  has  died  with  Christ,  there  is  a  neces- 
sity that  he  should  also  rise  with  Him  from  the  dead. 
And  since  Christ  has  risen  that  He  might  live  to  the 
glory  of  God,  there  is  a  moral  necessity  that  the  he- 
liever''s  life  should  be  devoted  to  the  same  great  end. 

As  the  perversion  of  his  doctrine  which  the  apostle 
considers  is  not  infrequent  at  the  present  day,  we  pro- 
pose, with  God's  assistance,  to  indicate  the  connection 
between  justification  and  sanctification — to  show  that 
the  scheme  upon  which  the  sinner  is  justified  by  mere 
grace  through  faith,  so  far  from  being  adverse  to  holi- 
ness of  life  is  that  by  which  it  is  effectually  secured. 

I.  We  would  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  this 
scheme  is  the  only  one  which  places  the  sinner  in  a  con- 
dition in  which  he  may  attain  to  holiness  of  life. 

1.  It  is  evident  that  since  the  fall  no  man  can  be 
sanctified  unless  he  has  been  previously  justified  upon 
some  scheme.  In  the  case  of  Adam,  on  the  contrary,  it 
was  necessary  he  should  be  holy,  or,  what  is  the  same 
thing,  that  he  should  have  obeyed  the  law  before  he 
could  be  justified.  His  justification  in  the  eye  of  the 
law  depended  on  his  perfect  fulfillment  of  all  its  com- 
mands, both  in  the  letter  and  in  the  spirit. 

No  less  could  have  been  required  under  the  scheme 
of  works  upon  which  he  relied  for  justification.  And 
doubtless  Adam  was  endued  with  strength  sufficient  to 
have  enabled  him  to  yield  si.ch  an  obedience,  and  had 
he  remained  in  his  integrity  during  the  time  appointed 
by  God  for  his  trial,  he  would  have  been  pronounced 
legally  righteous,  and  (!)nfirmed  in  holiness  for  eter- 
nity. But  the  moment  lie  broke  the  law  and  failed  to 
perform  the  conditions  of  the  covenant  into  which  he 


46  Sermons 

had  entered  with  God,  that  instant  it  became  absolutely 
impossible  for  him  to  be  justified  on  the  scheme  under 
which  he  hitherto  lived.  The  order  which  had  pre- 
viously existed  between  justification  and  sanctification 
was  completely  reversed,  and  it  became  absolutely 
necessary  for  him  to  be  justified  before  he  could  be 
sanctified.  And  since  the  sinner  is  now  precisely  in  the 
same  situation  with  Adam  subsequent  to  the  fall,  the 
same  necessity  must  still  hold  in  every  individual  case. 
The  impossibility  of  being  sanctified  before  justifica- 
tion, consists  in  the  fact  that  all  are  under  the  curse  of 
God's  violated  law,  and  consequently  in  a  state  of  pres- 
ent condemnation.  "Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 
tinueth  not  in  all  things  that  are  written  in  the  law  to 
do  them."  As  the  person  and  the  works  of  the  moral 
agent  are  strictly  related,  the  one  derives  its  complexion 
from  the  other.  Now,  under  the  first  covenant,  the 
person  of  the  individual  was  accepted  in  consequence 
of  the  previous  acceptance  and  justification  of  his 
works;  under  the  last  covenant,  the  order  is  directly 
inverted.  The  works  of  the  sinner  are  accepted  in  con- 
sequence of  the  previous  acceptance  and  justification 
of  his  person.  Or,  as  has  been  pithily  said  under  the 
covenant  of  works,  the  order  was,  do  this  and  live. 
Under  the  covenant  grace :  live  that  you  may  do  this. 

But  as  it  is  a  fact  that  the  sinner's  person  is  in  a 
state  of  condemnation,  all  his  works  must  also  be  in 
the  same  state;  and  if  his  works  are  not  acceptable  to 
God  there  is  not  the  remotest  possibility  of  his  sanctifi- 
cation, since  sanctification,  as  far  as  his  agency  is  con- 
cerned, is  the  performance  of  works  acceptable  in  God's 
sight.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  the  sinner  should 
be  justified  upon  some  scheme  before  he  can  serve  God 


Girardeau  47 

acceptably  and  attain  that  holiness  of  life  without 
which  ''no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.'' 

Now  it  is  equally  clear  that  the  scheme  upon  which 
the  sinner  is  actually  justified  before  God  is  that  very 
scheme  of  grace  which  the  apostle  has  so  elaborately 
expounded,  and  one  principal  department  of  which  he 
concisely  enunciates  in  the  expression,  "dead  to  sin." 
Several  distinct  methods  of  justification  have  been  ad- 
vocated by  different  men  and  by  men,  too,  professing 
to  found  their  views  u^Don  the  teaching  of  the  inspired 
word.  We  undertake  not  to  assert  that  inadequate  ap- 
prehensions of  the  great  plan  of  justification  are  inva- 
riably attended  with  fatal  consequences  to  the  salvation 
of  those  who  entertain  them.  Some  are  more  grossly 
and  glaringly  erroneous  than  others,  and  whilst  a  total 
or  wilful  misconception  of  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  on 
this  important  point  must  result  in  the  most  serious 
peril,  none  may  venture  infallibly  to  declare  the  exact 
amount  of  truth  which  is  necessary  to  salvation,  or  the 
precise  quantity  of  error  which  precludes  its  possibility. 
It  must,  however,  be  a  concern  of  the  last  importance 
to  approximate  as  closely  as  ])ossible  to  the  decisions  of 
God's  word. 

The  fatal  delusion  which  exercises  so  baleful  an  influ- 
ence on  the  practice  of  multitudes,  that  we  are  depend- 
ent for  salvation  upon  our  own  works  as  a  meritorious 
ground  of  justification,  aside  from  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  is  so  palpably  opposed  to  every  declaration  of 
Scripture  on  the  subject  that  it  needs  only  to  be  brought 
into  contact  with  "the  law  and  the  testimony"  and  the 
most  cursory  examination  by  its  light  to  insure  its  final 
overthrow.  "In  thy  sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justi- 
fied." The  apparent  inconsistency  between  Paul  and 
James  while  treating  of  faith,  which  to  many  affords 


48  Sermons 

a  countenance  to  this  monstrous  scheme,  is  seen  upon 
investigation  to  be  no  inconsistency  at  all.  Paul  treats 
of  the  ground,  James  of  the  evidence  of  justification. 
The  faith,  which  is  exclusive  of  works,  as  far  as  justi- 
fication is  concerned,  when  vieM'ed  in  reference  to  sanc- 
tification,  is  evidenced  by  works  to  be  sincere. 

But  there  are  more  specious  forms  in  which  the  same 
principle  of  self-righteousness  is  so  disguised  as  appar- 
ently to  mingle  with  the  grace  of  God  in  the  great  work 
of  man's  salvation. 

The  Romanist  contends  that  the  act  of  God  by  which 
the  sinner  is  justified  is  not  a  judicial  or  forensic  act, 
but  the  infusion  of  an  inherent  personal  holiness  or 
habit  of  grace.  This  act  which  they  term  the  first  justi- 
fication is  efficacious  in  remo^ang  original  sin  and 
expelling  habits  of  unholincss.  The  faith  by  which  we 
are  thus  first  justified  has  itself  an  intrinsic  virtue  pre- 
disposing the  soul  for  pardon.  But  the  value  of  this 
justification  is  limited,  and  it  is  only  by  good  works 
performed  in  subsequent  life  that  we  derive  the  second 
justification  which  avails  in  the  day  of  final  judgment. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Socinian  upon  this  point  is  in 
perfect  keeping  with  that  general  view  Avhich  they  take 
of  the  Gospel  as  merely  a  declaration  of  the  mercy  of 
God, — a  grand  moral  lesson  and  a  promise  of  eternal 
life.  Discarding  as  they  do  the  satisfaction  and  vicar- 
ious sacrifice  of  Christ,  they  hold  that  the  sinner  is 
justified  by  faith  as  a  great  moral  virtue  exercising  a 
commanding  influence  on  a  life  of  obedience  which, 
through  the  general  mercy  of  God,  merits  salvation. 

The  Armenian,  while  he  regards  the  righteousness, 
or  what  in  their  view  is  the  same  thing,  the  death  of 
Christ  as  the  meritorious  cause  of  justification,  coin- 
cides with  the  Romanists  in  attributing  to  the  faith 


Girardeau  49 

which  takes  advantage  of  this  righteousness,  an  inher- 
ent virtue  as  a  predisposing  cause,  or  as  is  termed,  a 
grace  of  congruity. 

It  will  be  observed  that  each  of  these  respective  sys- 
tems attributes  more  or  less  value  to  human  works. 
The  broad  and  sweeping  principle  which  the  apostle 
has  so  elaborately  expounded,  that  we  are  justified 
wholly  by  grace,  exclusively  of  the  smallest  degree  of 
human  merit  or  the  smallest  amount  of  human  works, 
is  by  no  means  cordially  and  fully  admitted  as  the 
basis  of  their  creeds.  The  doctrine  of  an  infusion  of 
personal  holiness  which  obtains  with  the  first,  is  seen 
at  first  glance  to  confound  the  distinctions  between  jus- 
tification and  sanctification,  while  the  imperfection 
which  they  attribute  to  the  first  and  the  efficacy  of  the 
second  justification  are  palpably  at  variance  with  the 
fundamental  idea  of  a  gratuitory  salvation.  The  Socin- 
ian  view  of  the  whole  Gospel  as  a  merely  moral  lesson 
is  so  degrading  to  the  great  plan  of  redemption  that 
their  system  of  justification  cannot  but  share  the  gen- 
eral censure  which  must  be  passed  upon  their  creed. 
And  the  Armenian,  wdiile  it  certainly  approximates 
more  nearly  the  truth,  still  is  not  exempt  from  that 
charge  of  self-righteousness  to  which  their  view  of 
faith  as  a  righteousness  exposes  them,  and  which  re- 
strains us  from  acknowledging  that  they  maintain  at 
least  theoretically  the  simple  principle  of  salvation  by 
free  and  sovereign  grace. 

The  Moravian  and  Antinomian  view  which  lies  at  the 
opposite  extreme  of  an  actual  justification  in  the  eternal 
decree  of  God  is  erroneous,  inasmuch  as  it  confounds 
a  secret  purpose  existing  in  eternity  with  a  positive 
act  which  can  only  occur  in  time,  as  justification  from 
guilt  necessarily  presupposes  commission  of  sin.    And 


50  Sermons 

the  practical  inferences  which  are  drawn  from  this 
position  are  so  obviously  surversive  of  that  holiness 
which  the  Gospel  demands  that  they  constitute  a  living 
proof  of  the  falsity  of  their  principles. 

The  view  of  justification  which  the  apostle  gives 
is  founded,  according  to  his  own  exposition,  upon  the 
legal  imputation  of  a  vicarious  righteousness  to  the 
person  of  the  sinner.  It  is  just  in  this  particular  aspect 
that  we  regard  the  various  systems  to  which  we  have 
referred  as  diverging  from  the  Scriptures.  They  all 
unite  in  denying  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness as  the  onl}'^  true  ground  of  justification.  That  this 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle  is  clear  from  the  parallel 
which  he  draws  between  Adam  and  Christ  in  the  chap- 
ter immediately  preceding:  "If  by  one  man's  offence 
death  reigned  by  one;  much  more  they  which  receive 
abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness 
shall  reign  in  life  b}^  one,  Jesus  Christ."'  Just  as  we 
become  unrighteous  through  the  sin  of  Adam,  so  we 
become  righteous  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 

The  fact  that  some  connexion  does  exist  with  these 
two  persons  is  denied  by  none  who  pretend  to  derive 
their  views  from  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  The  question 
is  as  to  the  precise  nature  and  effects  of  that  connexion. 

The  apostle  unquestionably  assumes  it  as  the  basis 
on  the  one  hand  of  our  fall  into  sin  and  consequent 
condemnation,  and  on  the  other  of  our  restoration  to 
righteousness  and  consequent  justification,  and  it  be- 
comes, therefore,  a  matter  of  the  most  serious  import 
to  discover  the  true  bearing  of  his  doctrine  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

It  is  evident  from  his  discussion  of  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation in  the  previous  i)art  of  the  Epistle,  that  he 
regarded  a  righteousness  which  should  be  able  to  stand 


Girardeau  51 

the  test  of  comparison  of  God's  holy  law  as  the  great 
postulate  of  the  sinner;  a  righteousness  which  should 
be  competent  to  justify  before  the  dread  tribunal  of  the 
final  judge.  And  it  is  equally  evident  that  -every 
scheme  upon  which  men  rely  for  salvation  derives  its 
origin  from  the  inquiry  so  loudly  and  urgently  pressed 
upon  the  natural  conscience:  "How  shall  a  man  be  just 
with  God?"  Whether  or  not  we  admit  that  view  of 
the  law  which  considers  it  as  administered  in  the  form 
of  a  covenant,  we  must  allow  its  just  demands  can  be 
satisfied  by  no  less  than  a  perfect  fulfilment  of  the 
obligations  it  imposes,  or  what  is  equivalent,  a  perfect 
righteousness.  But  as  it  is  a  fact,  palpable  to  sense, 
that  all  men  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  meeting 
this  first  requirement,  they  become  necessarily  exposed 
to  the  threatened  penalty.  ^Vliatever  view  we  adopt. 
of  that  nature,  of  that  penalty,  one  thing  is  certain: 
that  it  involves  a  condemnation  which  dates  from  the 
first  moment  of  transgression.  Now,  a  state  of  con-, 
demnation  is  absolutely  incompatible  with  any  avail- 
able effort  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  obedience  to  law. 
Hence  the  state  of  condemnation  and  consequent  moral 
impotency  is  of  necessity  perpetual,  on  the  ground 
that  a  personal  righteousness  is  exacted  from  the  sin- 
ner. The  very  first  infraction  of  the  law  is  a  sea-wide 
breach  between  the  sinner  and  his  God  which  cuts  him 
off  from  communion  with  Him  and  raises  a  barrier 
durable  as  the  eternal  throne,  one  operating  forever 
against  his  future  acceptance.  But  as  the  original 
requisition  of  a  perfect  righteousness  remains  in  all  its 
force  it  becomes  the  gravest  question  which  can  occur 
to  man :  "Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord,  and 
bow  myself  before  the  High  God  ?  Shall  I  come  before 
Him    with    burnt    offerings,    calves    of    a    year    old? 


52  Sermons 

Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or 
with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil?  Shall  I  give  my 
first-bom  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body 
for  the  sin  of  my  soul?"  But  turn  which  way  he  will, 
consume  what  means  he  please,  and  employ  all  the 
moral  energies  which  an  anguished  soul  can  devise, 
the  thick  darkness  that  may  be  felt  still  shrouds  his 
spirit,  and  the  bitterness  of  disappointment  still 
crushes  him  lower  into  the  depths  of  despair.  The 
insulted  justice,  the  spotless  holiness,  the  avenging 
wrath,  nay,  all  the  glorious  perfections  of  Jehovah 
rise  up  in  terrible  array,  and  as  with  double  flaming 
swords  guard  each  separate  avenue  to  the  tree  of  ever- 
lasting life.  The  decree  of  the  Almighty,  penned  as 
with  a  diamond  upon  the  eternal  rock,  still  frowns  the 
uncompromising  death  warrant  to  all  his  hopes.  "The 
soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die  !"  The  perfections  of  God, 
the  unchanging  penalty  of  His  law,  and  the  immuta- 
bility of  his  government,  conspire  to  render  it  morally 
impossible  that  the  sinner  can  be  saved  on  the  original 
principle  of  a  personal  obedience.  And  well  is  it  for 
us  that  those  perfections,  that  law  and  that  government 
admit  a  substitute  in  the  stead  of  the  transgressor.  If 
we  be  saved  it  must  be  by  virtue  of  the  righteousness  of 
a  competent  substitute,  accepted  by  God  in  the  sinner's 
place.  As  a  righteousness  cannot,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  be  furnished  by  himself,  it  must  be  furnished 
by  another  for  him.  Now  it  is  remarkable  that  the 
principle  by  which  we  become  first  unrighteous  is  the 
very  method  by  which  we  become  righteous — that  prin- 
ciple is  legal  imputation.  The  apostle  shows  in  the  5th 
chapter  that  all  men  become  sinners  in  the  first  in- 
stance not  by  their  personal  violation  o  fthe  law,  but  on 
account  of  the  acts  of  one  to  whom  they  sustain  a 


Girardeau  53 

peculiar  relation.  Whatever  that  relation  is  admitted 
to  be  none  can  deny  that  the  apostle  asserts  it :  "Where- 
fore, as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and 
death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that 
all  have  sinned."  It  is  clear  that  the  apostle  assigns  as 
a  reason  for  the  death  of  all  men  their  common  connex- 
ion with  the  first  man,  and  lest  some  should  assert  that 
the  sin  of  Adam  only  introduces  a  tendency  to  sin,  and 
that  we  die  only  in  consequence  of  our  own  personal 
transgressions,  he  excludes  this  evasion  of  his  doctrine 
by  showing  that  death  equally  passes  upon  those  w^ho 
from  the  nature  of  the  case  cannot  commit  voluntary 
transgression  in  the  instance  of  those  who  have  not 
sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  trangression. 
The  argument  is  briefly  this :  Death  is  the  effect  of  sin, 
consequently  where  no  sin  exists  there  is  no  room  for 
death.  But  those  die  who  cannot  commit  voluntary 
transgression,  as  for  instance  infants,  and  therefore 
cannot  merit  death  on  account  of  personal  acts.  But 
since  they  do  die,  it  is  by  virtue  of  their  participation 
in  the  sin  of  another.  They  have  sinned,  and  since 
sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law,  they  have  trans- 
gressed the  law,  and  not  being  capable  of  doing  it  per- 
sonally and  voluntarily,  must  have  done  it  in  Adam. 
And  just  here  the  point  of  controversy  exists.  How 
is  it  that  we  become  participants  in  Adam's  sin  ?  It  is 
clear  that  we  were  not  conscious  agents  in  Adam's 
transgression,  both  from  the  fact  that  we  did  not  then 
consciously  exist,  and  from  the  fact  that  infants  are 
liable  to  the  penal  consequences  of  that  sin  before  they 
are  capable  of  performing  voluntary  acts.  It  cannot  be 
wholly  by  virtue  of  our  natural  descent  from  Adam 
as  common  root  from  whom  we  sprung,  as  in  that  case 
we  would  be  chargeable  with  all  his  sins,  whereas  we 


54  Sermons 

are  actually  involved  only  on  his  first  sin,  for,  as  Paul 
saj's:  the  judgment  is  by  one  offence  to  condemnation, 
but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justification. 

It  does  seem  to  us  that  the  only  possible  ground 
upon  which  "we  become  involved  in  Adam's  sin  is  the 
ground  of  legal  imputation.  The  sin  is  not  consciously 
but  it  is  really  and  imputatively  ours.  This  imputation 
to  be  just  must  be  founded  ujoon  a  covenant  relation 
in  which  we  stand  to  Adam.  This  covenant  relation 
or  union  is  the  ground  of  our  responsibility  for  the  sin 
of  our  first  parent,  and  our  actual  exj^osure  to  the  penal 
consequences  of  his  transgression.  Now,  as  the  apostle 
has  drawn  a  parallel  between  Adam  and  Christ,  let  us 
pass  to  the  other  branch  of  it.  Having  considered  the 
method  by  which  we  become  sinners,  and  therefore  con- 
demned, let  us  briefly  notice  the  method  by  which  we 
become  righteous  and  therefore  justified.  AYe  have 
already  seen  that  the  crying  demand  of  the  guilt}'^  sin- 
ners is  a  justifying  righteousness,  and  we  have  also  seen 
that  the  possibility  of  attaining  such  a  righteousness 
on  the  gi'ound  of  personal  obedience  to  law  is  abso- 
lutely precluded.  If  he  be  justified  it  must  be  by  the 
righteousness  of  another.  The  question  arises  as  to  the 
method  by  which  we  are  made  possessors  of  such  a 
vicarious  righteousness.  We  take  the  apostle's  answer : 
Just  as  we  become  unrighteous  in  Adam,  so  we  become 
righteous  in  Christ.  Or,  to  use  the  words  of  the  same 
apostle  in  another  place:  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  so  even 
in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 

By  virtue  of  that  union  by  which  believers  are  con- 
nected with  Christ,  his  righteousness  is  imputed  to 
them,  and  they  are  regarded  as  having  performed  it  in 
Him.  It  is  not  a  conscious  righteousness,  for  we  are  not 
consciously  one  with  Christ.    But  it  is  a  legal  righteous- 


Girardeau  55 

ness,  accounted  to  them  as  if  they  had  furnished  it 
themselves.  As  natural  birth  is  the  general  medium 
by  which  we  are  related  to  Adam,  so  spiritual  birth  is 
the  medium  by  which  we  are  related  to  Christ.  Faith, 
one  of  the  chief  elements  of  the  new  nature,  created 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  the  specific  means  by  which  we 
are  united  to  Christ ;  it  is  the  bond  on  the  sinner's  part, 
as  the  Spirit  is  on  Christ's,  the  ligament  which  binds 
him  to  Christ. 

Faith  is  the  instrument  by  which  we  receive  the 
righteousness  for  which,  as  sinners  beggared  of  spir- 
itual food,  we  apply  to  God,  and  which  he  bestows 
upon  us  "without  money  and  without  price."  We 
regard  this  faith  not  as  itself  a  righteousness,  for  in 
that  case  it  would  be  a  work,  and  according  to  the  apos- 
tle could  have  no  influence  upon  our  salvation,  but  as 
the  ability  to  receive  the  imputed  righteousness  of 
Christ  produced  in  the  heart  by  the  efficacious  grace 
of  the  spirit;  and  thus  both  the  righteousness  which 
justifies  and  the  faith  through  which  we  are  justified 
are  the  free  gifts  of  God's  favor.  "By  grace  ye  are 
saved  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it 
is  the  gift  of  God."'  Thus  is  the  whole  scheme  by 
which  the  sinner  is  justified  one  of  mere  grace.  The 
only  seeming  objection  to  the  view  which  contem- 
plates this  plan  as  one  entirely  of  grace,  is  that  as  a 
perfect  fulfilment  of  the  claims  of  the  law  entitles,  on 
the  score  of  justice,  to  a  merited  reward,  and  as  the 
sinner  by  imputation  becomes  possessed  of  this  right- 
eousness he  is  entitled  to  eternal  life  on  the  platform  of 
strict  justice  and  not  of  grace.  But  this  objection  is 
at  once  obviated  by  considering  that  it  was  an  act  of 
free  grace  and  mercy  on  the  part  of  the  Father  to  com- 
mission His  well  beloved  Son  to  perform  the  work  of 


56  Sermons 

redemption,  and  equally  an  act  of  amazing  grace  and 
imspeakable  love  on  the  part  of  the  Son  to  '"undertake" 
for  sinners  and  consent  to  die.  So  that,  while  in  one 
asj)ect,  the  sinner  by  virtue  of  the  finished  work  of 
Christ  has  a  right  and  title  to  eternal  life,  in  another, 
that  claim  is  seen  based  on  the  boundless  mercy  of 
God. 

Thus  have  we  endeavored,  briefly  and  imperfectly, 
to  show  that  to  be  sanctified  we  must  be  previously 
justified,  and  that  the  scheme  of  free  grace  is  that  upon 
which  we  are  justified  and,  therefore,  is  essential  to 
sanctification.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  repre- 
sentation which  the  Scriptures  give  of  the  order  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  work  of  redemption.  Thus,  it 
declares  that  whom  God  predestinates  He  calls;  and 
and  whom  He  calls.  He  next  justifies.  So  that  justifi- 
cation comes  next  in  order  to  effectual  calling,  or 
regeneration  and  conversion;  and  thus,  also,  Christ  is 
represented  as  being  first  our  wisdom  to  instruct  and 
enlighten;  next  our  righteousness,  to  justify;  and  sub- 
sequently our  sanctification  and  redemption — and  as 
sanctification  is  necessarily  prior  to  redemption,  so 
justification  is  necessarily  prior  to  sanctification. 

And,  consequently,  as  the  scheme  of  free  grace  which 
the  apostle  lays  down  is  that  upon  which  we  are 
actually  justified,  it  follows  that  it  is  necessary  to  our 
sanctification.  And  that  the  scheme  of  justification 
which  we  have  defended  is  the  scheme  which  the  apos- 
tle propounds  is  proved,  if  on  no  other  ground,  by  the 
striking  fact  that  the  identical  objection  which  is  urged 
at  the  present  day  against  this  scheme  was  urged 
against  the  doctrines  of  the  apostle.  The  applicability 
of  the  objection  to  each  proves  their  identity. 


Girardeau  57 

II.  We  remark  in  the  next  place  that  the  union  of 
the  believer  with  Christ  which  has  been  contemplated 
as  the  prominent  feature  in  the  plan  of  justification 
involves  considerations  which  show  the  intimate  har- 
mony which  subsists  between  that  plan  and  our  sancti- 
fication. 

This  union  of  Christ  and  His  people  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  merely  civil  or  political  connexion,  as 
of  subjects  with  their  king,  or  people  with  their  leader, 
as  the  representations  of  sacred  Scriptures  are  too 
strong  for  such  a  view.  Nor  is  it  to  be  considered  a 
union  of  essence,  as  that  would  be  blasphemous;  nor, 
lastly,  as  a  union  of  person,  for  as  Christ  is  a  divine 
person  from  eternity  such  a  union  would  be  impos- 
sible, but  it  is  a  federal  and  spiritual  union.  Given 
CO  Christ  by  the  Father  in  an  eternal  covenant,  all  His 
people,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  become  actual  partakers 
of  that  covenant  by  the  regenerating  grace  of  the 
Spirit,  through  faith  which,  as  a  spiritual  union,  intro- 
duces them  into  the  blessings  of  the  federal  communion. 
In  both  these  aspects,  as  federal  and  spiritual,  the  be- 
liever's union  with  Christ  becomes  the  spring  of  his 
salvation.  Faith  is  the  instrument  by  which  he  be- 
comes a  partaker  of  the  blessings  of  the  federal  union — 
justification  and  adoption — and  is  the  great  principle 
by  means  of  which  he  attains  the  equally  important 
blessings  of  santification.  It  is  a  great  mistake  with 
many  to  regard  faith  as  merely  the  individual  act  by 
which  the  sinner  apprehends  Christ  in  the  moment  of 
justification,  which  is  needed  no  further  as  its  function 
has  been  discharged,  or  if  it  be  necessary  in  subsequent 
life  it  is  a  faith  which,  in  some  way  or  other,  differs 
from  that  which  justifies.  The  error  of  this  view  is  that 
it  makes  faith  merely  an  act,  whereas,  it  is  a  grace  of 


58  Sermons 

the  Holy  Spirit,  controlling  the  whole  subsequent  life 
of  the  justified  believer.  And  the  great  point  of  connex- 
ion between  our  justified  and  sanctified  states  seems  to 
us  to  consist  in  the  fact  that  the  same  blood  which  be- 
comes available  through  faith  to  justify  is  applied 
through  faith  to  sanctification.  The  blood  of  Christ 
both  frees  from  wrath  and  purges  the  conscience  from 
dead  works.  The  chief  difference  which  exists  between 
faith  as  exercised  in  justification  and  as  employed  in 
sanctification  is  that  in  the  former  case,  it  regards 
Christ  mainly  in  His  priestly  office;  and  in  the  latter, 
regards  Him  in  all  His  ofiices,  as  prophet,  priest  and 
king.  Christ,  as  priest,  offers  an  atonement  and  pro- 
vides a  righteousness  which  faith  leans  on  for  justifica- 
tion. But  in  the  progressive  work  of  sanctification,  the 
believer,  by  faith,  looks  to  Christ  as  his  priest,  to 
intercede  for  him ;  his  proi:>het,  to  instruct ;  and  his  king 
to  defend  him.  The  great  principle,  "without  faith  it 
is  impossible  to  please  God,"  is  equally  applicable  to 
our  justified  and  our  sanctified  states.  Through  that 
faith,  which  receives  a  graciously  imputed  righteous- 
ness, we  are  freed  from  a  guilt-burdened  conscience 
and  the  fearful  apprehensions  of  a  coming  wrath,  and 
this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world — even  our 
faith.  Not  the  most  untiring  expenditure  of  human 
effort — not  watching,  striving,  prayers  and  tears — but 
simple  faith  in  the  free  grace  of  the  crucified  Savior. 
Looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  the  furnisher  of 
our  faith,  is  the  grand  secret,  both  of  freedom  from 
wrath  and  holiness  of  life. 

But  not  only  is  the  faith  which  is  instrumental  in 
justification  necessary  to  sanctification,  but  there  are 
other  principles  with  regard  to  Avhich  the  same  obser- 
vation holds.    By  virtue  of  this  union  with  Christ  we 


Girardeau  59 

are  adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  being  brethren 
of  Christ  become  sons  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with 
Christ  to  a  glorious  inheritance.  Without  the  spirit  of 
adoption  it  is  imi^ossible  to  serve  God  acceptably ;  with- 
out it  every  effort  made  by  the  awakened  sinner  or  the 
self-sustaining  is  prompted  by  a  fear  of  wrath,  and 
springs  from  a  servile  dread  of  God  as  the  final  judge. 
It  is  only  when  we  cry  Abba,  Father,  only  when  we 
approach  Him  as  reconciled  through  the  blood  of  His 
Son,  that  we  are  enabled  to  bring  forth  the  peaceable 
fruits  of  righteousness.  The  twinges  of  conscience,  the 
stings  of  remorse  and  the  alarming  dread  of  Hell  can 
never  be  the  motives  of  a  truly  sober,  righteous,  and 
godly  life.  The  spirit  by  which  we  become  followers  of 
God'  as  dear  children,  coupled  with  a  sense  of  pardon 
and  reconciliation  with  Him  through  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  are  absolutely  necessary  to  holiness  in  life  and 
peace  in  death.  And  that  man  is  to  be  pitied  whom 
the  spirit  of  bondage  and  the  fear  of  a  coming  wrath 
goad  on  to  a  forced  conformity  to  the  externals  of 
religion,  to  a  life  relieved  by  no  earthly  enjoyment, 
and  sweetened  by  no  joys  of  pardon,  and  to  a  dying 
bed  racked  with  awful  uncertainty  with  reference  to 
the  tremendous  issues  of  eternity,  A  constant  reliance 
upon  the  blood  of  Christ  which  justifieth  is  the  only 
thing  that  robs  life  of  its  gloom  and  death  of  its  sting. 
But  there  is  still  another  consideration  which 
evinces  the  harmony  between  justification  by  free 
grace  and  santification  of  life.  The  obedience  of 
Christ  unto  death  as  it  has  produced  remission  of  guilt 
and  a  title  to  life,  has  also  purchased  for  the  believer 
the  santifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  the 
meritorious  cause  of  our  santification. 


60  Sermons 

It  is  only  by  virtue  of  Jesus'  sufferings  and  death 
that  we  obtain  the  grace  of  the  Spirit.  His  great 
atoning  sacrifice  was  the  reason  of  the  impartation  of 
the  Spirit  as  the  immediate  agent  in  the  production  of 
holiness.  Aside  from  Christ's  obedience  and  perfect 
righteousness,  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  nor  would  the 
Spirit,  while  the  sinner  lives  under  the  curse  of  the 
law,  impart  his  graces  in  his  heart.  To  him  who  has 
died  with  Christ  to  the  guilt  of  sin,  the  Spirit  is  im- 
parted to  enable  him  to  die  to  its  power.  There  is  thus 
a  beautiful  consistency  in  the  whole  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion. As  God  has  determined  to  save  the  sinner,  and 
that  can  only  be  done  through  the  righteousness  of  a 
substitute,  it  is  necessary  that  the  sinner  should  be 
invested  with  that  righteousness;  but  as  this  avails 
only  the  justification  of  his  person  in  law,  it  is  equally 
necessary  that  his  heart  should  be  sanctified  and  pre- 
pared for  the  eternal  presence  of  God.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  aj^plication  of  those 
blessings  which  Christ  has  purchased  with  His  blood. 
Thus,  my  brethren,  does  Christ  become  to  us  our  whole 
salvation ;  our  wisdom  to  instruct  us,  and  righteousness 
to  justify  us,  and  santification  to  make  us  meet  for  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 

III.  But  as  it  has  with  strange  inconsistency  been 
urged  by  those  who  object  to  justification  upon  a 
scheme  of  free  grace  that  Christ  by  His  sufferings  and 
death  has  introduced  a  new  law  of  grace  and  procured 
for  us  easier  conditions  of  salvation,  we  would  remark 
in  the  next  place,  that  the  scheme  of  justification  by 
free  grace,  against  which  the  objection  is  advanced, 
establishes  the  moral  law  in  its  integrity  as  a  rule  of 
life  and  duty  to  believers.  The  opponents  of  this  sys- 
tem of  grace  show  their  leaning  to  works  by  this  theory, 


Girardeau  61 

and  as  if  convinced  both  from  the  teaching  of  Sacred 
Scriptures  and  their  own  experience,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  furnish  an  obedience  which  will  abide  the  rigid 
demands  of  God's  law,  adopt  a  view  of  the  law  itself 
which  relaxes  the  bonds  of  moral  obligation.  It  being 
necessary  to  obey  the  law  in  order  to  salvation,  and 
experience  convinces  that  it  cannot  be  obeyed  in  its 
original  state,  they  are  forced  to  regard  the  death  of 
Christ  as  slacking  off  its  unbending  claims  and  accom- 
modating it  to  the  weakness  and  imperfection  of  their 
moral  strength,  and  as  only  partial  conformity  can  be 
expected  to  its  requisitions  even  in  this  lowered  state, 
what  is  wanting  will  be  made  up  by  the  merits  of 
Christ.  In  short,  God  will  accept  a  sincere  instead  of 
a  perfect  obedience.  But  the  view  of  justification  given 
by  the  apostle,  so  far  from  inducing  a  conviction  that 
the  claims  of  the  law  are  thus  compromised,  establishes 
those  claims  in  all  their  force.  For,  in  order  that  the 
sinner  should  escape  the  penalty  of  the  law,  it  was 
necessary  that  a  righteousness  without  a  flaw  should  be 
provided.  And  the  obedience  of  Christ,  being  infinite 
in  value,  was  alone  sufficient  to  meet  the  exigency. 
That  obedience  could  have  been  no  less  than  perfect, 
as  the  person  who  rendered  it  was  incapable  of  failure 
or  imperfection.  An  infinitely  perfect  obedience  was 
absolutely  demanded  by  the  righteous  law  of  God. 
Nothing  short  of  this  could  have  been  satisfactory. 
The  law  is  but  an  exact  external  representation  of  the 
nature  and  perfections  of  the  Almighty,  and  it  is 
scarcely  less  than  impiety  to  assert  that  its  original 
rectitude  could  be  so  far  compromised  as  to  admit  a 
partial  obedience.  There  is  undoubtedly  a  sense  ob- 
vious to  every  reader  of  Sacred  Scriptures  in  which 
the  law   is  nullified.      But  that   sense   presupposes   a 


62  Sermons 

certain  necessary  condition  to  have  been  performed.  It 
is  true  that,  in  consequence  of  the  obedience  and  death 
of  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  surety  of  the  elect,  the  con- 
demning sentence  of  the  law  is  forever  removed  from 
them.  As  He  has  incurred  their  debt  and  paid  it, 
justice  is  satisfied;  nor  would  it  demand  of  the  be- 
liever the  fulfilment  of  a  claim  which  Christ  has  dis- 
charged in  his  place.  There  is  now  no  condemnation 
to  them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  law  as  it  is 
administered  under  the  form  of  a  covenant  of  works 
actually  exists  no  longer  to  the  believer  in  Christ.  The 
law  which  still  exercises  its  sway  over  his  life  is  ad- 
ministered by  Christ  as  mediator,  and  hence  the 
believer  is  said  to  be  "under  the  law  to  Christ."  As 
the  sinner  owed  obedience  to  the  law  as  a  covenant  of 
works,  and  as  Christ  assumed  his  obligations  and  ren- 
dered a  perfect  obedience  to  it  under  that  form  of  ad- 
ministration, it  is  clear  that  the  believer  is  freed  from 
its  claims,  and  hence  the  apostle,  under  the  figure  of 
the  marriage  relation,  represents  the  death  of  the  law, 
as  a  covenant  of  works,  by  the  death  of  the  first  hus- 
band, and  the  marriage  of  the  believer  to  Christ  as 
by  the  marriage  of  the  wife  to  a  second  husband.  As 
Luther  observes,  "The  law  is  bound,  dead,  and  crucified 
in  me;  it  is  not  overcome,  condemned  and  slain  unto 
Christ;  but  unto  me  believing  in  Him,  unto  whom  He 
hath  freely  given  the  victory."  The  fact  is,  that  Christ 
having  voluntarily  subjected  himself  to  the  law,  as  a 
covenant  of  works,  and  having  perfectly  obeyed  it, 
was  justified  on  the  ground  of  that  obedience.  And  as 
the  guilt  of  sin  had  been  imputed  to  Him  He  was  justi- 
fied from  that  guilt,  or  "dead  to  sin,"  and  it  is  in  this 
sense  that  the  apostle  says  we  are  "dead  to  sin,"  for 
being  in  Christ  we  were  justified  with  Him  from  its 


Girardeau  63 

guilt.  Wliile,  however,  he  thus  unequivocally  asserts 
the  nullification  of  the  law  in  this  point  of  view,  he  is 
careful  to  determine  its  continued  existence  as  a  rule 
of  life  in  the  hands  of  Christ.  "Do  we  then  make  void 
the  law  through  faith?  God  forbid — yea,  we  establish 
the  law."  The  law  derives  its  immutable  character 
from  the  immutability  of  that  nature  which  is  the  only 
ultimate  ground  of  moral  distinctions.  Its  complexion 
is  reflected  from  the  radiant  perfections  of  the  Al- 
mighty. And  as  it  is  a  specific  rule  to  the  creature, 
embodying  the  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong  which 
exist  necessarily  in  God's  nature,  it  can  never  be  re- 
laxed until  that  nature  itself  has  ceased  to  be  unchange- 
able. In  the  cross  of  Christ  we  behold  the  strongest 
proof  of  the  unyielding  nature  of  the  law.  It  being 
determined  to  save  sinners,  nothing  could  obviate  the 
difficulty  but  the  death  of  God's  eternal  Son.  And  as 
long  as  that  accursed  tree  shall  stand  the  only  refuge 
of  the  guilt-burdened  sinner,  as  long  as  that  bleeding 
victim  to  justice  shall  be  lifted  up  that  all  men  may 
come  unto  Him,  so  long  will  there  be  the  most  striking 
monument  that  omnipotence  itself  could  raise  to  the 
eternal  sanctions  of  His  law.  That  crown  of  thorns, 
that  bloody  robe,  that  pierced  side,  that  agonizing  cry, 
that  awful  head  Avhich  bowed  in  death,  shall  conspire 
forever  to  "magnify  the  law  and  to  make  it  honorable" 
in  the  sight  of  God's  moral  universe. 

The  words  of  our  Savior  himself  are:  "I  am  not 
come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil."  No,  my  brethren,  these 
heavens  which  stretch  above  us  shall  pass  away,  those 
"everlasting  lamps"  shall  each  go  out  in  the  blackness 
of  darkness;  yea,  the  firm  pillars  of  this  earth  shall 
totter  and  crumble  and  fall,  but  not  one  jot  or  one 


64  Sermons 

tittle  of  that  law,  as  a  rule  of  life  and  duty,  shall  ever 
be  comi^romised. 

The  death  of  Christ,  so  far  from  abrogating  the  law 
or  lowering  its  requirements,  establishes  it  as  a  rule 
of  life  which  the  believer  is  bound  to  regard  as  the  per- 
fect standard  to  which  all  his  works  ought  to  conform. 
But  as  his  obedience  is  necessarily  imperfect,  as  his 
best  performances  cannot  abide  a  comparison  with 
this  standard,  he  relies  not  on  them  for  acceptance, 
but  on  the  blood  of  his  glorious  substitute.  Thus, 
so  far  from  depressing  the  standard  of  duty,  this 
scheme  of  justification  by  the  imputed  righteousness 
of  Christ  imparts  a  higher  sanction  to  the  law,  clothes 
it  with  a  more  august  and  commanding  authority  and 
perpetuates  it  as  an  indispensable  rule  of  life  and  meas- 
ure of  obligation. 

IV.  Lastly,  we  observe  that  this  scheme  of  justifica- 
tion by  mere  grace  presents  motives  to  holiness  of  life 
which  could  be  secured  on  no  other  scheme. 

It  is  not  denied  that  even  if  the  death  of  Christ  be 
regarded  as  not  of  a  strictly  vicarious  character,  that 
motives  of  some  force  may  be  derived  from  its  contem- 
plation, but  we  do  say  that  the  motives  to  holiness 
which  the  i^lan  of  justification  proposed  by  the  apostle 
suggests,  are  the  most  powerful  that  can  possibly 
operate  upon  the  human  heart.  It  is  readily  acknowl- 
edged that  they  are  not  of  such  a  character  as  those 
which  ordinarily  prompt  to  effort.  The  love  of  dis- 
tinction, the  desire  of  happiness,  the  fear  of  ill, 
are  not  the  principal  motives  which  spring  from 
a  view  by  faith  of  the  Lamb  of  God.  But  to  have 
been  given  to  Jesus  in  the  covenant  of  redemption 
without  our  personal  suffrage,  to  be  regarded  as  in  Him 
obeying  the  precept  and  fulfilling  the  penalty  of  the 


Girardeau  65 

law  which  we  had  violated,  to  have  this  all-perfect 
righteousness  imputed  to  us  and  thrown  as  a  spotless 
wedding  garment  around  our  souls,  to  have  died  on 
Calvary  with  Him  to  the  guilt  and  penalty  of  our  own 
sins  and  thus  to  be  plucked  by  sovereign  grace  as 
brands  from  the  everlasting  burnings,  to  be  made  joint- 
heirs  with  Christ  to  an  inheritance  that  fadeth  not 
away — these  considerations  are  suited  to  inspire  that 
love  and  gratitude  which  constitute  the  only  true 
motives  to  acceptable  obedience.  An  unmerited  favor 
cannot  fail  to  generate  gratitude  in  a  generous  heart 
and  that  love  which  unsolicited  show^ers  benefits  on  an 
enemy  can  be  requited  with  indifference  only  by  a  soul 
dead  to  all  sense  of  right.  Such  favor  and  such  love  is 
conspicuous  in  the  cross  of  Christ. 

The  objection  to  the  plan  of  salvation  by  mere 
grace  fails  to  recognize  the  validity  of  the  choicest 
motives  to  action,  or  at  least  it  seems  to  be  based 
on  the  supposition  that  the  scheme  of  the  apostle 
is  characterized  by  an  utter  destitution  of  all  motive 
to  holiness,  and  tends  to  produce  that  "ease  in 
Zion,"  which  is  fatal  to  an  evangelical  effort.  But 
where  shall  we  discover  sufficient  motive  if  the  free, 
boundless,  undeserved  mercy  of  the  Father,  the 
infinite,  the  unutterable  love  of  the  Son,  and  the  long 
suffering  grace  of  the  Spirit  wdiich  speak  from  the 
cradle  of  Bethlehem,  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  the 
cross  of  Calvary  and  the  Ebenezers  of  our  own  expe- 
rience are  not  competent  to  produce  it?  If  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  bleeding  Savior  expiring  in  agonies  and  blood 
on  the  accursed  tree  for  our  worthless  souls,  if  this 
does  not  move  us,  what  in  heaven,  earth,  or  hell  can  do 
it  ?  If  the  love  of  Christ  does  not  constrain  us,  in  vain 
will  we  appeal  to  the  desire  of  happiness,  to  the  dread 


66  Sermons 

of  judgment  and  the  fear  of  hell.  This  plan  of  justi- 
fication by  mere  grace  does  not  supply  those  motives 
which  are  based  in  selfishness,  but  it  does  provide  others 
which,  while  they  humble  self,  assimilate  our  nature  to 
the  character  of  God.  Gratitude  to  God  for  His  un- 
speakable gift,  love  to  that  blessed  Savior  who  gave 
Himself  a  ransom  for  us,  a  joyful  persuasion  of  our 
personal  interest  in  His  death,  and  a  blood-bought  hope 
of  joining  that  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first 
born  who  night  and  day  in  the  upper  temple  cry, 
Grace !  Grace  !  these  are  the  motives,  these  the  powerful 
incentives  which  induce  the  believer  to  follow  Christ, 
to  pursue  holiness,  and  to  go  on  from  strength  to 
strength  till  he  "appears  in  Zion  before  God." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  we  have  only  defended  the 
scheme  of  salvation  by  grace  from  the  objection  urged 
against  it,  in  the  single  point  of  justification  by  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  as  that  is  the  only  subject 
which,  up  to  the  time  of  his  notice  of  the  objection,  he 
had  handled.  But  the  tendency  to  holiness  of  all  the 
other  doctrines  grace  is  as  manifest  as  that  of  justifi- 
cation. If  we  are  elected  in  the  eternal  purpose  of 
God  it  is  that  we  "should  be  holy  and  without  blame 
before  Him  in  love."  If  we  have  been  effectually 
called  by  the  efficacious  grace  of  God's  spirit  it  is  that 
we  should  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son.  If 
we  are  assured  that  none  shall  ever  pluck  us  from  His 
hand  it  is  because  He  who  has  begun  a  good  work  in 
us  will  carry  it  on  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ,  because 
we  are  kept  by  His  power  through  faith  unto  salvation. 

The  whole  plan  so  viewed,  instead  of  depressing  the 
standard  of  morals,  relaxing  the  bonds  of  obligation 
and  affording  an  unqualified  license  to  the  carnal  de- 
sires of  the  heart,  ratifies  the  immutable  distinctions 


Girardeau  67 

of  right  and  wrong,  elevates  the  measure  of  holiness, 
and  furnishes  motives  to  holiness  of  life  which  can  be 
equally  secured  on  no  other  scheme. 

It  follows  from  what  has  been  said  that  the  true 
method  by  which  believers  should  mortify  sin  is  to 
maintain  the  constant  persuasion  of  their  union  with 
Christ  and  their  death  in  Him  to  the  guilt  of  sin.  The 
apostle  enjoins  it  upon  them  to  reckon  themselves  to 
be  dead  indeed  to  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  A  constant  view  by  faith  of 
a  crucified  Savior  and  a  joyful  sense  of  our  personal 
interest  in  His  sufferings,  death  and  resurrection  is  the 
only  thing  which  can  relieve  the  soul  of  that  sense  of 
guilt  and  apprehension  of  wrath  that  crijDples  our 
efforts,  beclouds  our  hope  and  bows  the  head  in  despon- 
dency and  gloom. 

My  brethren,  let  us  strive  to  feel  with  the  apostle 
when  he  exclaims,  "For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
uSy  because  we  thus  judge  that  if  one  died  for  all  then 
were  all  dead,  and  that  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which 
live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves  but 
unto  Him  which  died  for  them,  and  rose  again." 


68  Sermons 


THE  OFFICE  OF  WORKS  OF  CHAR- 
ITY IN  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT 

Matt.  XXV.  40.  '"''And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say 
unto  them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye 
have  done  it  unto  me.'''' 

These  words  were  spoken  by  Him  who  is  the  Prophet 
of  the  church  and  the  light  of  the  world.  ''God,  who 
at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time 
past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these 
last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  His  Son,  whom  He  hath 
appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also  He  made 
the  worlds ;  who  being  the  brightness  of  His  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  His  person,  and  uj^holding  all 
things  b}^  the  word  of  His  power,  when  He  had  by 
Himself  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  majesty  on  high."  But  not  only  is  information 
in  regard  to  the  judicial  process  of  the  last  day  com- 
municated to  us  by  one  who  is  the  accredited  revealer 
of  God's  will,  with  the  extraordinary  credentials  of  His 
divine  commission  suspended  around  His  person,  but 
it  is  extended  by  one  who  is  also  constituted  the  final 
judge  of  the  human  race.  "For  the  Father  judgeth  no 
man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the  Son"; 
"and  hath  given  Him  authority  to  execute  judgment 
also,  because  He  is  the  son  of  man." 

Note. — This  sermon  was  preached  In  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Columbia,  S.  C,  on  Sabbath  night,  January  29,  1882.  It  was  prepared 
at  the  request  of  the  Ladies'  Benevolent  Society,  and  was  delivered  in 
the  interest  of  its  work.  This  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  it  was 
preached  in  exactly  this  form. 


Girardeau  69 

He  will  discharge  the  judicial  function,  who  is  a 
partaker  of  the  nature  which  will  be  arraigned  at  the 
bar;  who,  having  suffered  humiliation,  disgrace  and 
death  in  the  prosecution  of  His  work  as  the  Savior  of 
men,  will  have  His  claims  vindicated  and  His  glory 
illustrated  by  presiding  at  the  last  assize ;  who,  having, 
in  accordance  with  the  eternal  counsels  of  the  Godhead, 
conducted  all  of  the  previous  stages  of  redemption,  will 
perform  the  last,  decisive  act  bv  which  the  economy  of 
grace  will  be  closed. 

He,  who  promulgated  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai,  who 
expounded  the  law  on  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes,  who 
fulfilled  the  law  on  Mount  Calvary,  who  administers 
the  law  on  Mount  Zion,  and  who  will  execute  the  law 
on  the  Mount  of  final  judgment, — He  it  is,  who  lifts 
the  awful  curtain  hanging  between  us  and  the  ever- 
lasting future,  and  lets  in  light  upon  the  throne  of 
justice  and  the  procedures  of  the  day  of  doom.  The 
Judge  himself  ascertains  us  beforehand  of  what  we  are 
to  expect.  It  is  a  striking  consideration,  that  the  pas- 
sage, from  which  the  text  is  extracted,  furnishes  a 
particular  account  of  the  order  and  the  steps  which  will 
obtain  in  the  final  trial  that  is  to  stamp  the  complexion 
of  our  destiny — the  most  minute  description  of  the 
judicial  process  which  is  contained  in  the  Bible.  It 
deserves  the  most  careful  scrutiny,  for  it  meets  and 
satisfies  the  strong  craving  of  our  minds  for  knowl- 
edge of  the  future,  and  at  the  same  time  renders  inex- 
cusable our  ignorance,  of  the  manner  in  which  we  will 
be  dealt  with  in  the  great  judicial  day. 

Nor  can  it  fail  at  once  to  arrest  our  attention,  that 
the  order  which,  as  we  are  informed,  will  be  pursued, 
is  the  inverse  of  that  adopted  in  human  courts;  so  far 
as  their  deci'^ious  are  not  merely  grounded  in  the  arbi- 


70  Sermons 

trary  will  of  ai»  {;ulocratic  despot.  In  them,  in  conse- 
quence of  human  ignorance,  the  testimony  is  first  taken, 
in  order  that  llic  innocence  or  guilt  of  the  party  at  the 
bar  may  be  collected  from  the  investigation  of  the  facts 
in  the  case,  and  then  the  sentence  is  pronounced.  But 
in  that  final  court,  the  Judge  will  first  pronounce  the 
sentences,  "Come,  3'e  blessed,"  or  "Depart,  ye  cursed," 
and  then  will  Himself  adduce  the  testimony  which  will 
manifest  the  justice  of  His  decisions. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  no  one  can  be  tried  by 
his  peers,  for  all  will  be  equally  impleaded  before  the 
bar — all  will  be  on  trial.  Xor  can  it  be  requisite  that 
a  preliminary  investigation  of  facts  should  be  insti- 
tuted, for,  the  Judge  is  alike  omniscient  and  infinitely 
righteous.  All  the  facts  are  perfectly  known  to  Him, 
and  the  justice  of  the  findings  will  be  admitted  and 
enforced  by  the  consciousness  of  every  individual  at  the 
bar.  What  there  may  be  of  momentary  dissent  or 
protest  will  instantly  be  dissipated  by  the  incontro- 
vertible testimony  which  the  Judge  Himself  will  pro- 
ceed to  adduce. 

The  passage  before  us,  and  concurrent  utterances  of 
the  Word  of  God,  assure  us  that  men  will  be  judged 
according  to  therr  works.  "We  must  all  appear  before 
the  judgment-seot  of  Christ;  that  every  one  may 
receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according  to  that 
he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  "And  I  saw 
the  dead,  small  rind  great,  stand  before  God;  and  the 
books  were  opened;  and  another  book  was  opened, 
which  is  the  book  of  life;  and  the  dead  were  judged 
out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
according  to  their  works."  It  is  of  the  very  last  con- 
sequence that  ju.=;t  here  we  should  make  no  mistake. 
Reason  would  convince  us,  and  the  Scriptures  definitely 


Girardeau  71 

declare,  that  no  Transgressor  of  the  divine  law  can  be 
justified  on  the  ground  of  his  own  works.  "By  the 
deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  There  has 
been  but  one  doer  of  the  law,  in  order  to  justification, 
Christ,  as  the  divinel}^  appointed  substitute  of  sinners, 
has  completely  obeyed  it  both  as  to  its  precept  and  its 
penalty;  and  his  vicarious  righteousness,  received  by 
faith,  constitutes  the  only  ground  of  acceptance  with 
God,  either  in  this  world  or  at  the  judgment-bar. 
When,  therefore,  the  Bible  asserts  that  men  shall  be 
judged  according  to  their  works  the  meaning  is,  not 
that  they  will  be  pronounced  in  the  great  day  to  be 
justified  and  acquitted  on  the  ground  of,  or  on  account 
of,  their  works.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  works  of  the 
righteous  will  furnish  the  evidence  that  they  are  justi- 
fied on  the  grounil  of,  or  on  account  of,  Christ's  merits ; 
and  that  they  possess  a  character,  which  makes  them 
meet  for  the  enjoyment  of  God's  presence  and  the  fel- 
lowship of  heaven.  The  case  of  the  unbelieving  wicked 
is  different.  They  will  be  condemned  on  the  ground 
of  their  works,  as  not  only  intrinsically  blameworthy, 
but  as  furnishing  the  evidence  that  they  had  rejected 
the  merits  of  Christ  as  the  ground  of  their  acceptance, 
and  that  they  possess  a  character  which  makes  them 
deserving  of  banishment  from  the  presence  of  God  and 
from  the  glory  of  His  power.  They  will  be  judged 
not  only  according  to,  but  on  account  of,  their  works. 
I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  commit  no  blunder  in  this 
matter,  for  it  must  entail  disastrous  consequences  upon 
your  eternal  interests. 

The  question  now  springs  up  and  challenges  atten- 
tion. What  sort  of  works  are  those  which  Christ  tells 
us  will  afford  the  evidence  of  the  justice  of  the  judicial 


72  Sermons 

sentences?     The  answer  is,  works  of  charity;  and  it  is 
an  answer  which  merits  our  maturest  consideration. 

Let  us,  first,  notice  the  singularly  conspicuous 
place  which  will  be  assigned  to  offices  of  charity  in 
the  inquisition  of  the  last,  great  day.  Turning  to  those 
on  His  right  hand,  the  King  will  utter  the  thrilling 
words,  "Come,  ye  blessed!"  But  why?  What  title 
have  they  to  such  a  welcome?  Does  the  King  say.  Ye 
were  just,  ye  were  true,  ye  were  faithful,  ye  were 
temperate,  ye  were  orthodox,  ye  adhered  to  my  church 
in  life,  and  ye  died  in  its  communion?  Xo.  ^Ul  that 
may  be  involved  in  the  character  of  those  whom  He 
will  approve  and  receive  amidst  the  solemnities  of  that 
day.  But  He  does  not  say  that  He  will  signalize  those 
traits.  AMiai  will  the  King  say  to  the  righteous?  Ye 
fed  the  hungry,  ye  gave  drink  to  the  thirsty,  ye  enter- 
tained the  stranger,  ye  clothed  the  naked,  ye  visited  the 
sick  and  those  who  were  in  prison.  What  a  marvellous 
preeminence  will  be  accorded  to  charity  in  the  last  day  ! 
Surely  it  cannot  be  that  the  other  Christian  graces  are 
not  worthy  to  be  mentioned  on  that  day,  but  it  is  that 
charity  is  more  worthy  of  distinction  than  they.  "And 
now,"'  says  the  apostle  Paul,  "abideth  faith,  hope, 
charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  char- 
ity." Great  is  faith.  Is  it  not  the  grace  which  unites 
us  to  Christ  as  a  Savior?  Is  it' not  the  victory  that 
overcometh  the  world?  Did  not  the  ancient  heroes  of 
Christ's  cause  on  earth  triumph  by  faith  over  every 
difficulty,  and  vanquish  every  foe?  Did  they  not  live 
by  faith,  and  was  it  not  by  faith  they  died?  Great  is 
hope.  Does  it  not  sustain  us  under  life's  burdens,  ani- 
mate us  for  its  conflicts,  cheer  us  amidst  its  afflictions, 
comfort  us  as  we  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  death- 
shade,  and  make  the  darkness  of  the  dying  hour  blush 


Girardeau  73 

with  the  morning-  light  of  heaven?  Yea.  Great  is 
faith,  and  great  is  hope,  but  the  distinction  of  charity 
is  that  it  is  greater  even  than  they.  Noble  grace  I  It 
is  the  chief  feature  in  that  image  of  God  which  the 
divine  Spirit  stamps  upon  the  regenerated  soul.  The 
very  expression  of  unselfishness,  it  asks  nothing  and 
gives  everything.  The  most  useful  of  all  the  virtues,  it 
leads  its  possessor  to  live  for  the  good  of  others.  It  is 
emphatically  the  grace  which  contemplates  the  duties 
relating  us  to  this  present  world  of  sin  and  wretched- 
ness, while  faith  and  hope  are  aspiring  to  the  rewards 
of  the  future.  It  is  content  to  hang  upon  a  cross, 
while  they  are  looking  for  a  crown.  Itself  destined  to 
chief  honor  in  the  day  when  the  fire  of  an  impartial 
judgment  will  try  all  pretensions  to  virtue,  and  calcine 
to  ashes  all  the  gauds  and  pomps  of  merely  human 
and  civil  works,  it  is  unconscious  of  its  own  value,  and 
will  be  surprised  at  its  recognition  by  the  final  judge. 
Entitled  to  the  palm  in  the  sisterhood  of  divine  graces, 
it  will  modestly  disown  all  claim  to  it,  and  shrink  from 
its  bestowal.  Heavenly  charity !  its  hand,  which  was 
opened  to  every  plea  of  human  want,  will  put  back  tne 
amaranth  of  eternal  honor  which  will  be  placed  upon 
its  head  with  the  sanction  of  the  Godhead,  and  amidst 
the  thunders  of  angelic  acclamations;  while  its  human 
beneficiaries — the  hungry,  the  thirsty,  the  stranger,  the 
naked,  the  sick,  the  imprisoned,  now  relieved  from 
every  earthly  woe,  stand  ready  to  escort  it  to  the  gates 
of  glory  and  welcome  it  to  the  abodes  of  bliss.  Such 
is  the  distinction  that  will  be  conferred  upon  this 
grace  of  Charity,  which  in  itself  gentle,  humble,  self- 
renouncing,  will  ultimately  be  crowned  as  the  imper- 
sonation in  human  form  of  the  genius  of  Christianity ! 
Such  the  honor  that  will  be,  amidst  the  solemnities  of 


74  Sermons 

the  last  judgment,  bestowed  upon  this  self-denying  but 
sublime  virtue,  which  brings  our  poor,  imperfect  nature 
into  closest  likeness  to  Him,  who  dwelt  among  men  and 
shared  their  sorrows,  who  healed  the  sick  and  the 
crippled,  the  deaf,  the  dumb  and  the  blind,  who 
groaned  in  sympathy  wath  the  bereaved  and  wept  with 
them  over  their  dead,  and  who  at  last,  although  en- 
titled to  universal  homage,  laid  down  His  life  in  agony 
and  shame  to  redeem  His  enemies  from  sin  and  death 
and  hell ! 

But  we  have  only  touched  the  skirts  of  this  sub- 
ject. We  must,  in  the  next  place,  inquire  what  is  the 
nature  of  this  charity,  and  what  the  character  of  these 
works  which  will  receive  mention  so  conspicuous  in  the 
day  of  final  accounts.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves. 
Men  are  cheated  by  the  merely  superficial  and  phenom- 
enal circumstances  of  actions — their  tinsel  and  paint 
and  varnish,  but  the  divine  Judge,  with  his  omniscient 
eye,  looks  down  into  the  profound  recesses  of  the  soul 
in  which  lurk  hidden  from  human  inspection  those 
springs  of  thought  and  feeling,  those  intentions,  mo- 
tives and  governing  principles,  that  impart  a  real  and 
permanent  value  to  our  deeds.  Many  are  the  acts 
emblazoned  with  the  beautiful  name  of  charity  which 
can  lay  but  a  hollow  claim  to  the  illustrious  title ;  many 
the  deeds  of  splendid  beneficence  that  extort  the  en- 
comiums of  the  world,  but  which  wall  be  reduced  to 
nothing  by  the  solvent  of  the  last  fire. 

Here,  however,  we  are  obliged  to  distinguish.  There 
is  the  distinction  between  an  act  as  it  ap]:)ears  to  man, 
and  as  it  appears  to  God;  and  there  is  the  distinction 
between  an  act  materially  considered— that  is,  as  to  the 
thing  itself  which  is  done,  and  the  same  act  formally 
considered — that  is,  as  to  the  motive  which  led  to  its 


Girardeau  75 

performance.  Generally,  that  which  alone  appears  to 
the  eye  of  the  human  observer  is  the  outward  act  itself. 
When  we  witness  the  performance  of  an  act  of  charity, 
we  see  the  material  benefit  which  is.  conferred,  the 
pecuniary  alms,  the  food,  the  drink,  the  raiment,  the 
visit  to  the  sick  and  the  imprisoned,  the  entertainment 
of  the  strangers;  and  we  may  be  able  to  notice  the  joy 
of  the  beneficiary  and  the  material  relief  he  experi- 
ences. And  with  this  we  should  ordinarily  be  satisfied. 
It  is  not  our  province  to  hunt  for  the  latent  motive, 
which  lies  back  of  the  external  act  and  veiled  from  our 
perception.  It  may  be  a  good  one,  it  may  be  a  bad  one, 
but  we  are  neither  qualified  nor  authorized  to  discharge 
the  function  of  judges.  In  most  cases,  we  ought  to 
infer  from  the  material  goodness  of  the  deed  the 
worthiness  of  the  motive  which  prompted  it.  But 
there  may  be  cases,  in  which  the  informing  motive 
emerges  from  latency,  and  is  so  obtrusively  thrust 
upon  our  observation,  that  it  is  impossible  that  it 
should  elude  our  knowledge.  In  such  cases  we  are  com- 
pelled to  take  the  seat  of  the  judge,  and  pronounce  upon 
the  formal  value  of  the  acts.  If,  for  example,  we  see 
alms  extended  to  the  poor,  manifestly  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  votes  for  office,  or  of  eliciting  applause 
from  spectators,  while  we  approve  the  material  results 
of  the  benefaction,  we  are  obliged  to  regard  the  act 
as  possessed  of  no  formal  value  as  a  fruit  of  principle 
and  a  test  of  character.  On  the  contrary,  contem- 
plating it  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  internal  rela- 
tions, we  are  under  the  necessity  of  disapproving  it. 
We  feel  that  the  outward  and  material  benefit  con- 
ferred, although  it  be  good  and  deserving  of  applause, 
furnishes  no  evidence  that  the   principle   of  charity 


76  Sermons 

exists  as  an  element  of  character,  and  a  spring  of 
action. 

Now.  those  instances,  in  which  our  knowledge  is 
limited  to  the  merely  material  and  outward  features  of 
acts,  afford  no  analog}^  whatever  to  the  mode  in  which 
they  are  estimated  by  the  divine  judgment.  "For  the 
Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth:  for  man  looketh  on  the 
outward  appearance,  but  the  Lord  looketh  on  the 
heart."  He  cannot  be  deceived  as  to  the  subtle  relation 
which  subsists  between  the  outward  action  and  the  in- 
ward principle.  To  him  there  is  no  distinction,  as 
with  us,  between  the  apparent  and  the  real — the  visible 
and  the  invisible.  All  is  phenomenal  and  visible  to  his 
omniscient  eye.  The  soul  is  more  intimately  known 
by  Him  than  by  its  own  consciousness.  Its  funda- 
mental laws,  its  most  secret  thoughts,  its  most  fugitive 
phases  of  feeling,  are  intuitively  apprehended  by  Him 
whose  knowledge  has  no  limitations,  but  like  His  being 
is  infinite.  ''Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before  thee, 
our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance."  The 
morning  sun  does  not  as  clearly  reveal  the  features  of 
a  landscape  which  had  been  veiled  by  the  darkness  of 
night,  as  does  the  blazing  light  of  God's  face  the  ob- 
scurest emotions  and  purposes  of  the  human  heart. 

But  those  cases,  in  which  we  at  once  possess  a  knowl- 
edge of  outward  acts  and  of  the  motives  which  in- 
spired them,  are  a  shadow — an  imperfect  illustration, 
of  the  mode  in  which  the  moral  qualities  of  actions  are 
weighed  in  the  unerring  balances  of  the  divine  judg- 
ment. It  should,  however,  not  be  forgotten  that,  as  to 
degree,  God's  knowledge  is  infinitely  clearer  than  ours 
can  be,  and  that  as  to  mode,  he  is  never  dependent  upon 
inference,  as  we  often  are,  for  insight  into  the  secret 
condition  of  the  creature.    He  gazes  in  one  undivided 


Girardeau  77 

intuition  upon  the  material  and  the  formal  qualities  of 
actions,  upon  the  outward  deed  itself  and  the  intention 
which  impresses  its  moral  type. 

Let  us  noAv  apply  these  distinctions  to  the  office 
which,  Christ  tells  us,  will  be  discharged  by  works  of 
charity  in  the  day  of  judgment.  Their  material  and 
outward  qualities  will  be,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
recognized  and  m.entioned  by  the  Judge — feeding  the 
hungry,  giving  drink  to  the  thirsty,  lodging  the 
stranger,  clothing  the  naked,  visiting  the  sick  and 
prisoners.  But  this  is  by  no  means  all.  He  will  un- 
cover and  bring  out  into  light  and  distinctly  state  the 
principle  from  Avhich  these  acts  proceeded,  the  motive 
which  dictated  them  and  fixed  their  moral  value.  Ad- 
dressing the  righteous  He  will  say :  ""I  w^as  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye 
gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in; 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  me;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited 
me;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.''  "Inas- 
much as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  Wonderful 
words !  Let  us  pause  and  mark  their  significance. 
There  are  at  least  two  things  which  they  enforce  upon 
our  attention : 

In  the  first  place,  they  shed  the  light  of  the  last 
judgment  upon  the  nature  of  that  charity  which  the 
Judge  himself  will  approve,  and  the  kind  of  charitable 
offices  which  he  will  adduce  as  evidences  of  a  justified 
state  and  a  holy  character.  The  charity  which  w411 
pass  inspection,  and  will  play  so  distinguished  a  part 
in  that  judicial  day,  is  not  one  which  was  a  mere  com- 
plement— a  mechanically  united  bundle  of  outward 
acts  of  beneficence.  It  is  a  deep-seated  principle  of  the 
soul,  a  permanent  habitude,  which  expressed  itself  in 


78  Sermons 

benefactions  to  the  poor.  But  what  sort  of  principle? 
what  kind  of  habitude?  The  answer  is — and  it  is 
furnished  by  the  Judge  himself — love  for  Christ.  It 
was  for  my  sake  ye  did  your  charitable  works;  they 
sprang  from  the  love  ye  bore  for  me.  And,  therefore, 
I  cite  them  from  my  book  of  remembrance,  to  evidence 
and  prove  your  possession  of  the  principle  of  love  to 
me.  This,  then,  is  the  nature  of  that  charity  which 
will  retain  its  name  and  read  its  title  in  the  revealing 
light  of  the  judgment-day:  it  is  love  for  Christ,  a  prin- 
ciple, a  grace,  an  all-informing  motive,  which  origin- 
ated, characterized  and  transfigured  mere  outward  and 
material  benefactions  to  the  poor.  But  love  to  Christ 
will  prove  the  existence  of  faith  in  Christ,  for  "faith 
worketh  by  love";  and  faith  in  Christ  will  prove  the 
possession  of  his  righteousness,  which  is  the  sole  ground 
of  justification  and  acceptance  w^ith  God.  Still  more, 
love  to  Christ  proves  the  existence  of  love  to  God,  and 
love  to  God  is  "the  fulfilling  of  the  law,"  and  the  ful- 
filling of  the  law  proves  the  possession  of  the  temper 
of  universal  obedience  to  all  the  divine  requirements — 
a  condition  of  the  soul  which  renders  it  meet  for  the 
society  of  the  Trinity,  the  fellowship  of  angels  and  "the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  Grand  sorities ! 
beginning  with  offices  of  charity  to  the  poor,  and  run- 
ning back  by  an  irrefragable  chain  of  evidence,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  a  justified  relation  of  the  person  to  God, 
and,  on  the  other,  to  a  character  of  holiness  which 
qualifies  its  possessors  for  endless  communion  with  God 
and  the  blissful  enjoyment  of  His  presence. 

It  ought  not  to  be  supposed,  that  the  words  of  the 
Judge  im^Dose  the  obligation  of  relieving  only  those 
who  are  followers  of  Christ  and  members  of  His  body. 
We  cannot  know  whether  one  who  novt^  makes  no  pro- 


Girardeau  79 

fession  of  faith  in  the  Savior  will  not  do  it  before  he 
dies ;  nor  can  we  be  sure  that  all  who  bear  the  Christian 
name  are  really  brethren  of  Christ.  The  great  matter 
is,  that  we  help  them  from  the  motive  of  love  to  Him. 
There  is  indeed  a  peculiar  tie  which  binds  us  to  the 
members  of  the  family  of  God  into  which  we  trust  we 
have  been  adopted  by  the  love  of  the  Father,  the  grace 
of  the  Son  and  the  supernatural  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  They  are  emphatically  our  brethren,  our 
i*  ather's  children,  to  whom  we  are  linked  by  a  closer 
and  a  tenderer  bond  than  that  of  blood.  But  while  we 
are  required  by  divine  command  and  by  the  instinctive 
affections  of  the  renewed  nature  to  do  good,  especially 
to  them  who  are  of  the  household  of  faith,  we  are  also 
enjoined  to  communicate  to  the  necessities  of  all  men. 
That  unhappily  large  community,  whose  name  is  the 
Poor,  whose  bill  of  rights  is  their  wants,  whose  appeals 
are  not  to  justice  but  to  mercy,  and  whose  ensigns-  are 
the  famished  body  and  the  extended  palm,  belong  pecu- 
liarly to  no  church  or  religion,  no  nation,  tribe  or 
tongue,  but  represent  all  shades  of  character,  all  forms 
of  creed,  all  types  of  race.  They  are  human.  That 
validates  their  plea  before  a  humanity  whose  kinship 
is  stamped  by  a  relation  to  one  God,  and  the  nexus  of 
one  bond  of  hope — the  mediation  of  the  man,  Christ 
Jesus.  The  fact  of  need  is  what  appeals  to  our  sym- 
pathies; and  in  relieving  it,  whether  found  in  the 
Christian  or  the  infidel,  the  wicked  or  the  good,  we 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  Him  who  throughout  a  life  of 
wondrous  beneficence  rejected  no  petition  for  help,  and 
•at  the  first  keen  accession  of  the  pangs  of  crucifixion 
and  the  shame  of  a  felon's  death,  poured  our  alike  His 
prayers  and  blood  for  the  inflicters  of  His  woes.  What 
is  insisted  on  is,  that  it  is  the  motive  of  love  for  Christ, 


80  Sermons 

which  Avill  impart  real  value  to  our  works  of  charity  in 
the  day  of  final  reckoning. 

How  do  these  words  of  Jesus,  the  appointed  judge 
of  mankind,  fall  like  thunder-bolts  upon  many  of  those 
pretending  and  ostentatious  offices,  which  pass  current 
in  this  sophistical  world  under  the  charming  guise 
of  charity !  God  forbid,  that  we  should  disparage  any 
beneficent  deed  by  which  a  single  human  want  is  sup- 
plied, a  single  human  ache  is  cured,  a  single  human  tear 
is  wiped  away !  Let  it  be  that  its  only  value  is  the 
material  relief  it  affords.  The  importance  of  that  in  a 
world  of  suffering  like  this  cannot  be  exaggerated. 
The  hungry,  the  thirsty,  the  stranger,  the  sick,  the 
dying,  are  around  us  on  every  hand.  The  mournful 
procession  has  never  gone  by;  its  tread  is  ever  in  our 
ear.  Were  society  to  resolve  itself  into  a  vast  eleemosy- 
nary institute  in  the  effort  to  extinguish  human  woe, 
its  united  energies  would  not  avail  to  make  the  poor 
man  an  unwonted  spectacle,  the  sick  bed  a  curiosity, 
and  the  grave  a  wonder.  Poverty,  disease  and  death 
are  the  inheritance  of  the  race,  and  whatever  may  be 
the  motive  as  it  appears  to  omniscience,  philanthropy 
hails  every  legitimate  attempt  to  diminish  the  mass  of 
wretchedness  which  rolls  like  a  sea  over  the  world. 
Let  the  generous  and  compassionate  gratify  the  in- 
stincts of  nature  by  extending  material  relief  to  the 
suffering  and  the  needy.    The  more  of  this  the  better. 

But  let  us  not  make  the  tremendous  blunder  of  mis- 
taking an  ephemeral  impulse  for  the  heaven-born  and 
undying  principle  of  love;  and  by  calling  it  charity, 
magnify  its  offices  into  a  preparative  for  the  trial  of 
the  last,  great  day.  No  act  of  charity,  however  lauda- 
ble and  splendid  in  the  eyes  of  men,  will  have  any 
significance  in  the  final  reckoning,  if  it  sprang  not  from 


Girardeau  81 

love  to  Christ.  Nor  can  acts  of  beneficence  which  were 
incited  by  the  motive  of  pride,  or  vain-glory,  or  the 
love  of  apiDlause,  constitute,  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
evidences  of  a  justified  state  or  of  meetness  for  the  com- 
panionship of  heaven.  "Inasmuch" — the  eternal  judge 
will  thunder — "inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  not  to  me.  And 
these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment." 

One  cannot  forbear,  in  connexion  with  this  subject, 
to  remark  upon  the  folly  of  those  philosophical  writers 
on  morals,  who  although  they  live  under  the  condi- 
tioning influence  of  Christianity,  yet,  in  their  analyses 
of  the  great  princijDle  of  benevolence,  throw  out  of 
account  the  love  of  Christ  as  a  controlling  motive  to 
action,  and  expel  His  name  from  their  works.  They 
seem  to  forget  the  gigantic  fact  of  sin,  and  the  conse- 
quent need  of  redemption ;  and  perpetuate  the  stupen- 
dous fallacy  of  treating  the  case  of  man  as  though  he 
were  still  standing  in  innocence.  These  philosophers 
appear  to  think  that  the  dignity  of  their  utterances 
would  be  lowered,  and  the  classic  polish  of  their  pages 
be  sullied,  by  an  allusion  to  the  crucified  Nazarene. 
They  forget  that  the  mediation  of  Christ  has  im- 
pressed an  all-pervading  type  upon  the  divine  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  which  nothing  but  utter  perversity 
of  the  heart  can  fail  to  recognize,  or  stark  blindness  of 
the  intellect  can  refuse  to  see. 

It  has  been  said,  with  equal  truth  and  beauty,  that 
the  great  "name  of  God  is  very  close  to  us.''  It  is 
written  as  with  the  divine  finger  itself  upon  the  nature 
within  us  and  the  nature  without  us.  But,  in  itself, 
it  is  not  a  name  which  is  a  representative  of  hope,  or  an 
object  of  delightful  contemplation,  to  a  race  which  is 
conscious  of  sin  and   crime.     As  it  stands   indelibly 


82  Sermons 

recorded  upon  the  foundation  laws  and  beliefs  of  our 
souls,  and  proclaims  itself  in  the  penalties  of  conscience 
— fear,  shame,  remorse,  despair;  as  it  is  spelled  in  the 
flaming  characters  of  the  heavens,  or  darkly  frowns  in 
their  appalling  omens;  utters  itself  in  the  ghastly  ter- 
rors of  famine,  pestilence  and  death  which  afflict  the 
earth,  and  is  heard  in  the  crash  of  the  thunder,  the 
rumble  of  the  earthquake  and  the  roar  of  the  storm, 
it  is  the  symbol  of  retribution  and  the  prophecy  of 
doom.  In  our  natural  condition  what  are  we,  but  a  col- 
lection of  criminals,  marching  under  guard  to  the 
judgment-bar  and  the  prison  of  hell  ?  It  is  one  of  the 
most  astounding  facts  in  the  history  of  our  unhappy 
race,  that  the  question  of  God's  existence  has  ever  been 
raised;  and  still  more  astounding  is  it,  that,  having 
been  raised,  it  has  given  birth  to  a  controversy  scarcely 
surpassed  in  bulk  by  any  other  which  has  been  waged 
upon  a  single  subject.  If  sin  had  never  occurred, 
Atheism  would  have  been  an  impossibility.  And  could 
even  now  the  idea  of  retributive  justice  be  abstracted 
from  the  conception  of  God,  the  likelihood  is  that  it 
would  vanish  from  the  field  of  speculation.  It  is  a 
God  of  retributive  justice,  the  registry  of  whose  name 
the  conscious  transgressor  would  expunge  from  his 
own  works,  and  whom  he  Avould  thrust  out,  if  he  could, 
from  his  own  habitation.  As  long  as  justice  is  recog- 
nized, the  inseperable  connexion  between  guilt  and 
punishment  must  be  felt.  And  as  long  as  that  terror 
is  experienced  w^hich  drives  the  sinner  from  the  pres- 
ence of  a  divine  Judge,  all  successful  endeavors  after 
obedience  to  God  are  hopelessly  excluded.  There  can 
be  no  love  to  a  Being  whose  justice  is  armed  for  our 
destruction,  and  without  love  to  him  there  can  be  no 
worship  which  would  l)e  accepted,  no  obedience  which 


Girardeau  88 

would  be  approved.  Under  such  circumstances,  of 
what  avail  are  philosophical  analyses  of  the  principles 
or  morals,  or  ethical  digests  of  the  rules  of  duty  ?  They 
are  prelections  uttered  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  sepul- 
chre, and  addressed  to  the  ears  of  the  dead.  Or  if  the 
intellectual  and  moral  existence  of  the  auditors  be  in- 
sisted on,  they  are  arguments  to  the  culprit  why  he 
should  love  the  judge  who  sentences  him,  exhortations 
to  him  to  obey  the  law  which  hangs  him. 

But  the  awful  name  of  God  is  translated  and  inter-, 
preted  to  sinners  by  another  name,  which  is  the  emblem 
of  reconciliation  and  the  pledge  of  love.  Need  it  be 
mentioned?  Is  it  not  Jesus  Christ?  This  is  the  name 
which  indeed  comes  very  close  to  the  sinner,  and  close 
to  him  in  ineffable  tenderness  and  j^ower.  The  media- 
tion, the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  have  revolu- 
tionized our  relations  to  God.  The  wonder  is,  that  the 
name  of  the  sinner's  Savior  is  not  seen  to  be  inscribed 
on  the  heavens  above,  on  the  earth  beneath,  and  on  the 
profoundest  principles  of  the  human  soul.  The  won- 
der is,  that  the  man  of  science  does  not  read  it  ciphered 
in  starry  letters  upon  the  nocturnal  sky,  and  chronicled 
in  every  element  and  force  of  the  physical  globe;  and 
that  the  philosopher,  bending  the  ear  of  consciousness 
to  the  phenomena  of  inward  experience,  does  not  hear 
it  cried  out  from  the  lowest  depths  of  his  moral  being. 
The  wonder  is,  that  he  does  not  think  as  in  the  shadow 
of  the  Cross,  and  write  as  if  his  pen  were  dipped  in 
atoning  blood.  The  love  of  Christ  is  the  expression  of 
God's  love  to  the  guilty,  and  the  responsive  love  which 
it  evokes  from  the  heart  of  the  sinner,  as  it  completes  our 
reconciliation  to  God,  and  renders  possible  an  accepta- 
ble obedience  to  His  law.  It  becomes  along  with  faith 
a  root,  and  by  itself,  peculiar  and  distinguished  in  this 


84  Sermons 

regard,  the  very  complement  of  all  holy  acts.  The 
philosopher,  who  had  contemptuously  banished  it  from 
the  category  of  moral  virtues,  will  be  dismayed  to  see 
it  signally  emphasized  and  magnificently  crowned  in 
that  day  when  all  human  speculations,  principles  and 
actions  will  pass  under  searching  and  final  review. 

In  the  second  place,  these  wonderful  words  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me,"  enforce  upon  our  attention  His  identification  of 
himself  with  His  poor  and  needy  members  on  earth. 
This  is  almost  incredible  to  us  circumstanced  as  we  now 
are.  Even  though  we  may  have  reason  to  feel  that  we 
have  renounced  every  other  ground  of  dependence,  and 
have  heartily  embraced  Christ,  freely  offered  to  us  in 
the  Gospel,  as  the  only  hope  of  our  souls,  it  is  a  tax 
upon  our  faith  to  admit  the  oneness  of  so  glorious  a 
Savior  with  ourselves.  It  requires  the  assuming  wit- 
ness of  His  Spirit  to  scatter  our  doubts  and  convince 
us  that  He  acknowledges  us  as  His  brethren,  the 
adopted  children  of  His  Father,  and  joint-heirs  with 
Him  to  all  the  riches  of  His  Father's  house,  the  bound- 
less inheritance  of  God.  Conscious  of  sin,  of  back- 
sliding, of  treachery,  as  we  are,  we  are  often  ashamed 
to  lift  up  our  faces  before  Him,  and  would  fain,  like 
Peter  under  the  remembrance  of  His  fall,  bow  our 
heads  and  weep  in  the  bitterness  of  our  souls.  We  feel 
that  we  are  unworthy  of  a  look  of  recognition,  of  a 
single  token  of  His  love,  and  are  surprised,  like  the 
dejected  and  penitent  apostle,  when  we  receive  some 
reassuring  message  from  our  risen  Lord,  which  lifts 
us  from  dust  and  ashes  and  thrills  us  with  gratitude 
and  joy. 


Girardeau  85 

We  limit  the  merits  of  Jesus'  righteousness,  we  apply 
the  poor  measure  of  our  sympathies  to  those  which 
throb  in  a  Savior's  heart,  we  bound  the  fulness,  and 
circumscribe  the  out-goings,  of  infinite  love.  Exalted 
as  He  now  is,  far  above  all  principality  and  power 
and  might  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named  not  only  in  this  world,  but  in  that  which  is  to 
come.  He  identifies  himself  with  the  meanest  of  His 
people,  and  makes  common  cause  with  them  as  they 
wrestle  with  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  Devil.  From 
the  throne  of  glory,  as  once  He  did  from  the  movmt 
of  transfiguration.  He  comes  down  to  the  low  plane 
of  their  conflicts,  difficulties  and  woes,  and  takes  their 
part  and  bears  a  hand  with  them  in  their  hopeless 
struggle  against  odds.  As  old  John  Owen  in  effect 
says.  He  appears  upon  the  scene,  plants  himself  on 
their  side,  and  challenges  their  adversaries  with  the 
demand,  "What  question  ye  with  them?"  Hands  off! 
These  are  my  brethren,  these  are  my  Father's  children. 
I  am  their  Savior  and  their  Advocate.  If  ye  have  any- 
thing against  them,  deal  with  me ;  I  am  here  to  answer 
for  them.    What  is  done  to  them  is  done  to  me. 

Nor  is  this  all.  He  declares  the  wants  of  His  breth- 
ren, of  the  least  of  His  brethren,  to  be  His  wants.  It 
is  not  only  that  He,  the  compassionate  minister  to  the 
necessities  of  afflicted  human  beings  during  His  sojourn 
with  them  in  this  vale  of  tears,  still  remembers  and 
commiserates  them,  although  He  sits  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  Majesty  on  high  and  listens  to  the  chorus  of 
heaven  as  it  rolls  its  billows  of  praise  to  His  feet.  We 
need  not  be  surprised  that  the  great  heart  which  beat 
on  earth  with  sympathy  for  human  sufferers  and  broke 
at  length  in  a  sacrificial  death  for  their  redemption, 
is  not  alienated  from  them  by  the  possession  of  heav- 


86  Sermons 

enly  glory  and  universal  dominion,  but  unchanged  and 
unchangeable  pours  out  upon  them  its  wealth  of  love 
and  pity  from  the  mediatorial  throne.  This  does  not 
put  our  faith  to  the  strain;  but  this  is  not  the  whole 
case.  The  ascended  and  glorified  Redeemer  identifies 
himself  with  His  poor  brethren  on  earth.  In  all  their 
affliction  He  is  afflicted.  "They  fill  up  that  which  is 
behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ"  in  their  flesh.  They 
are  His  exponents  and  representatives,  in  whom  He 
still,  so  to  speak,  lingers  in  this  world  and  walks  among 
men,  not  now  imparting  blessings  to  the  needy,  but 
asking  succor  in  His  need.  The  hand  which  gave  mercy 
is  now  extended  to  receive  it;  the  mouth  which  spoke 
healing  to  soul  and  body  now  asks  for  bread  and 
water ;  He  who  clothes  us  with  the  wedding-garment  of 
righteousness  now  solicits  raiment  to  cover  His  naked- 
ness; and  the  great  Physician  who  cured  all  manner 
of  sickness  now  lies  stretched  on  the  pallet  of  suffering 
and  the  bed  of  death.  Is  this  hard  to  believe?  Hear, 
how  He  will,  in  the  great  day,  prove  the  meetness  of 
His  people  for  His  welcome  of  them  to  everlasting  joy : 
when,  in  yonder  scene  of  suffering,  ye  fed  the  hungry, 
it  was  me  ye  gave  meat  to ;  when  -ye  gave  drink  to  the 
thirsty,  it  was  me  whose  thirst  ye  slaked;  when  ye 
lodged  the  stranger,  it  was  me  ye  entertained ;  when  ye 
clothed  the  naked,  it  was  me  to  whom  ye  furnished  rai- 
ment; when  ye  visited  the  sick,  it  was  me  ye  nursed; 
when  ye  came  to  the  prisoner,  it  was  me  of  whose 
chain  ye  were  not  ashamed.  Lord,  they  will  exclaim, 
when  was  that?  We  never  saw  thee  in  the  body  on 
earth.  Yea,  the  King  will  answer,  yea,  ye  did.  Inas- 
much as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me.  "These,  my 
brethren,"   he    affectionally    calls   them,    as    with   the 


Girardeau  87 

royal  sceptre  in  His  grasp  and  the  royal  diadem  upon 
His  head,  he  effects  the  irreparable  division  of  the 
human  race  and  pronounces  the  changeless  sentences 
of  doom. 

There  is  but  one  other  thought  which  I  shall  notice 
as  suggested  by  these  wonderful  words  of  Jesus.  It  is 
that  no  office  of  charity,  however  slight  it  may  be, 
which  springs  from  the  motive  of  love  to  Christ,  will 
ever  be  forgotten  or  overlooked  by  Him.  It  may  have 
been  lost  sight  of  by  him  who  did  it,  but  it  will  be  sure 
to  reappear  in  the  last  day,  and  will  not  fail  of  meeting 
a  gracious  and  everlasting  reward.  There  are  many 
reasons  which  tend  to  produce  forgetfulness  of  these 
acts  of  charity  by  those  who  performed  them.  In  a 
world  so  full  as  this  is  of  suffering  and  want  appeals 
for  help  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  and  one 
benefaction  coming  close  upon  another  obliterates  its 
trace  from  memory,  as  tracks  imprinted  upon  the  ocean 
beach  are  washed  out  by  every  bursting  wave.  More- 
over, the  same  sense  of  sinfulness  and  unworthiness 
which  renders  His  people  slow  to  apprehend  the  inti- 
mate union  between  their  exalted  Savior  and  them- 
selves, blunts  their  perception  of  His  fellowship  in 
want  with  their  poor  and  needy  neighbors,  and  of  the 
fact  that  they  minister  to  His  necessities  when  they 
communicate  to  theirs.  And  further,  the  fear  of  in- 
flaming spiritual  pride  prevents  that  determinate 
attention  to  the  acts  which  is  necessary  to  fix  their 
impression  upon  the  memory.  They  are  felt  not  to  be 
worthy  of  registration  or  even  of  mention,  no  account 
is  kept  of  them  by  their  performers,  and  so,  for  one 
reason  or  another,  the  recollection  of  these  deeds  of  ben- 
eficence fades  away  into  what  seems  an  irrecoverable 
past. 


88  Sermons 

But  vanished  though  they  be  from  the  records  of  our 
memory,  these  acts  of  charity  are  not  forgotten,  not  one 
of  them.  Oh,  no !  That  loaf  of  bread  given  to  the 
hungry,  that  cup  of  cold  Avater  handed  to  the  thirsty, 
that  garment  thrown  around  the  emaciated  form  to 
protect  it  from  the  wintry  blast,  that  dose  of  medicine 
administered  to  the  parched  lips  of  the  sufferer  on  his 
couch  of  sickness,  that  cooling  of  the  fevered  brow,  that 
gentle  smoothing  of  the  dying  pillow, — lo !  they  appear 
again.  The  tattered  pauper  whose  timid  knock  once 
brought  us  to  the  door,  the  poor  needle-woman  who 
worked  her  fingers  sore  to  get  bread  for  herself  and 
her  children,  and  whose  eyes  glistened  at  the  sight  of 
the  plate  of  food,  the  friendless  stranger  who  lay  on  a 
cot  under  our  roof,  the  widow  who  would  have  shivered 
over  a  cheerless  hearth  but  for  the  fuel  sent  to  her 
desolate  home, — ^behold,  they  appear  again.  When? 
A^Tiere  ?  In  that  great  da}^  of  doom,  before  yon  flaming 
bar,  in  the  presence  of  angels,  men  and  devils,  as- 
sembled to  hear  the  sentences  of  destiny,  as  they  fall 
from  the  lips  of  the  eternal  Judge.  Summoned  by  Him 
who  forgets  nothing  done  for  His  sake,  thej  will  ap- 
pear as  witnesses,  to  prove  that  the  love  of  Christ  was  a 
moving  and  operative  principle  in  sinful  men,  which 
made  them  meet  for  the  plaudits  of  the  Judge,  and 
the  rewards  of  the  blest. 

A\Tiere  is  our  faith?  Where  is  our  love  to  Jesus? 
Who  of  us,  in  view  of  results  so  transcendent,  would 
not  share  His  earthly  means  with  the  suffering,  the 
sick,  the  poor?  I  say  not,  let  us  give  that  we  ?nay 
receive;  but,  let  us  give,  and  we  will  receive — good 
measure,  pressed  down  and  shaken  together,  and  run- 
ning over,  poured  into  our  bosoms  by  a  hand  which 
has  the  bliss  of  immortality  at  its  disposal.    The  sacri- 


Girardeau  89 

fices  of  earth  forever  past,  the  welcome  of  the  King 
extended  to  us,  the  rapture  of  acceptance  thrilling  our 
hearts,,  with  what  transports  of  joy  shall  we  look  upon 
the  happy  objects  of  our  earthly  charities,  and  with 
them  join  the  procession  of  the  glorified,  which  will 
move  with  triumphal  anthems  to  the  pearly  gates  and 
the  golden  streets  of  that  city  of  God,  where  no  poor 
shall  be  found,  no  inhabitant  shall  say,  I  am  sick,  no 
sufferer  press  the  bed  of  death.  O  mammon  of  un- 
righteousness, we  will  make  of  thee  friends  in  this 
scene  of  want,  that  when  we  fail  they  may  receive  us 
to  everlasting  habitations! 

Go  on,  my  friends  of  the  Benevolent  Society,  go  on  in 
the  fulfilment  of  your  Christ-like  mission.  You  reach 
a  class  of  cases  which  are  not  touched  by  State  pro- 
vision, and  are  only  met  by  such  delicate  offices  as 
those  which  you  discharge.  You  may  seek  no  other 
reward  than  the  privilege  of  expressing  your  love  for 
your  Savior,  and  the  intrinsic  gratification — the  sweet 
satisfaction,  which  flows  from  abating  human  want; 
but  for  every  pang  you  assuage  on  earth  there  may 
await  you  a  joy  in  heaven,  for  every  tear  you  wipe 
from  the  cheek  of  suffering,  a  smile  from  the  face  of 
your  Lord. 


90  Sermons 


THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES— IN  THE 
WORLD 

Matt.  xvi.  3:  "(9  ye  hypocrites^  ye  can  discern  the 
face  of  the  sky ,'  hut  can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times  f'' 

In  these  words,  in  which  our  Savior  rebukes  the 
Saddiicees  and  the  Pharisees,  three  things  are  taught: 
First,  That  as  the  signs  of  the  weather  are  observable, 
so  are  the 'signs  of  the  times:  as  there  is  a  natural 
meteorolog}',  there  may  be  a  sacred  sematologj^;  sec- 
ondly, that  we  both  have  the  right  and  are  under  obli- 
gation to  observe  the  signs  of  the  times :  that  in  doing 
so  we  are  not  enthusiasts  and  fanatics,  but  discharge  a 
legitimate  and  praiseworthy  function;  thirdly,  that 
not  to  observe  the  signs  of  the  times  implies  negligence 
and  guilt.  As  every  age  has  its  own  characteristic 
genius,  dispositions  and  tempers,  which  we  call  the 
spirit  of  the  times,  and  which  no  philosophic  mind  can 
afford  to  disregard,  so  there  are  peculiar  signs  that 
mark  every  religious  period  which  no  pious  mind  is  at 
liberty  to  slight. 

I.  In  considering  this  subject,  let  us  first  notice  some 
of  the  prominent  qualifications  for  a  proper  observation 
and  discernment  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  in  their 
religious  bearings. 

Note. — This  sermon  and  the  one  following  were  first  preached  in  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  now  the  Arsenal  Hill  Presbyterian 
Church,  Columbia,  S.  C,  on  the  Sabbath  afternoons  of  January  31, 
and  February  7,  1892.  They  were  afterwards  preached,  probably  as 
one  sermon,  in  Manning,  McClellanville,  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  Charles- 
ton,  South  Carolina,   and  in   Savannah,   Georgia. 


Girardeau  91 

1.  Spiritual  sagacity  is  required.  Some  sagacity, 
some  sound  common  sense,  some  calm,  solid,  practical 
judgment  is  of  fundamental  importance  in  any  attempt 
to  discern  the  governmental,  political,  social  signs  of  an 
age,  viewed  in  their  secular  relations.  Together  with 
this  quality  should  be  associated  some  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  human  society  and  of  the  progress  of  his- 
torical events,  so  that  one  age  maj'  be  compared  with 
another  in  view  of  certain  well-ascertained  standards 
of  appeal.  So  is  it  in  the  religious  sphere.  Some 
spiritual  sagacity,  some  sanctified  common  sense,  some 
practical  judgment  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
combined  with  some  acquaintance  with  the  truths  of 
God's  Word,  the  principles  of  the  church  as  a  super- 
natural society,  and  the  development  of  ecclesiastical 
history,  are  necessary  to  scan  the  signs  of  the  religious 
firmament,  to  institute  a  judicious  comparison  of  our 
own  times,  religiously  considered,  with  those  which 
have  now  passed  away.  Without  these  qualifications 
for  the  study  of  the  signs  of  the  times  we  would  be 
prone  to  superstition  with  its  brood  of  erroneous  con- 
clusions. We  should  be  in  the  moral  and  religious 
sphere  like  those  in  the  natural,  who  construe  an  eclipse, 
an  unusual  conjunction  of  the  planets,  a  shower  of 
meteors,  into  a  portent  of  some  disastrous  change  in  the 
order  of  nature.  Especially  ought  there  to  be,  in  con- 
nection with  these  qualifications,  a  reverent,  sober,  de- 
vout study  of  the  prophecies  of  Scripture.  It  has  been 
sneeringly  said  in  regard  to  unfulfilled  prophecy,  that 
"its  study  either  finds  men  mad  or  leaves  them  so.''  The 
answer  to  that  profane  jibe  is  the  didactic  statements 
of  the  Bible.  "None  of  the  wicked  shall  understand, 
but  the  wise  shall  understand."  "Blessed  is  he  that 
readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy, 


92  Sermons 

and  keep  those  things  which  are  written  therein:  for 
the  time  is  at  hand."  "And  he  said  unto  me,  These 
sayings  are  faithful  and  true :  and  the  Lord  God  of  the 
holy  j^rophets  sent  his  angel  to  shew  unto  his  servants 
the  things  which  must  shortly  be  done.  Behold,  I  come 
quickly :  blessed  is  he  that  keepth  the  sayings  of  the 
jjrophecy  of  this  book."  He  that  reads  the  prophecies 
on  his  knees,  and  has  the  eye  of  faith  open  to  see,  will 
understand  what,  instead  of  making  him  mad,  will  save 
him  from  the  insane  frenzy  of  a  carnal  indifference  to 
the  momentous  issues  of  the  futui'e.  It  behooves  us  to 
be  like  "the  children  of  Issachar,  which  Avere  men  that 
had  understanding  to  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do." 

2.  Thoroughness  of  observation  is  requisite.  This  is 
demanded  in  every  domain  of  inquiry  in  order  to  the 
attainment  of  correct  generalizations.  It  is  necessary, 
therefore,  to  the  formation  of  proper  conclusions  touch- 
ing the  signs  of  the  times.  Tavo  things  are  supposed: 
patience  in  the  prosecution  of  our  inquiries,  for  hasti- 
ness here,  as  in  every  other  exploration  of  a  field,  is 
death;  and  a  wide  induction  of  particular  facts.  An 
induction  too  narrow  makes  the  conclusion  top-heavy. 

3.  Freedom  from  j^rejudice  and  passion  is  necessary. 
This  is  so  obvious,  it  is  so  often  insisted  upon  by  writers 
in  every  dej^artment  of  inquiry,  that  it  needs  not  to  be 
pressed  at  length.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  that 
men  are  governed  in  their  views  by  the  prejudgments 
derived  from  early  training,  from  the  instructions  of 
parents  and  teachers,  and  from  the  circumstances  of 
their  environment,  and  not  by  an  unjDrejudiced,  inde- 
pendent examination  of  evidence.  Look,  for  instance, 
upon  the  religious  denominations.  How  many  of  the 
adherents  of  a  particular  sect  have  subjected  its  claims 
to  a  patient  and  unbiased  examination  ?    There  are  few 


Girardeau  93 

who  are  not  controlled  simply  by  their  antecedents. 
This  also  leads  to  party  feeling,  not  unfrequently 
amounting  to  passion.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  if 
one,  so  conditioned,  is  right,  he  is  not  consciously  right 
because  he  has  fairly  and  impartially  examined  his 
position. 

If  I  may  without  offence  allude  to  personal  experi- 
ence, I  would  remark  that  in  relation  to  the  special 
question  before  us,  the  conclusions  which  will  be  an- 
nounced in  this  discourse  are  the  opposite  of  those 
which  were  imbibed  from  influences  exerted  upon  my 
early  education  and  even  ministry.  That  fact,  it  is 
true,  does  not  prove  those  conclusions  to  be  right ;  but 
it  does  prove  that  they  have  been  reached  in  the  teeth 
of  prejudice  and  in  consequence  of  candid  investiga- 
tion. To  a  like  temper  I  humbly  but  confidently  submit 
them. 

4.  Earnest  prayer  for  divine  illumination  is  also 
demanded.  A  right  discernment  of  the  signs  of  the 
times,  is  only  possible  to  one  posessed  of  those  spiritual 
qualities  which  have  been  already  mentioned,  and  they 
are  God's  gifts.  They  must,  therefore,  be  sought  by 
prayer,  and  the  proper  direction  of  them  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  accordance  with  His  inspired  T'Tord,  must 
also  be  an  object  of  importunate  supplication.  For  one, 
without  prayer  for  special  guidance  with  reference  to 
this  subject,  to  say :  '*I  think  so,"  "'Such  is  my  opinion," 
is  to  be  presumptuous  and  profane.  Only  the  student 
of  the  Scriptures  and  the  suppliant  for  divine  light  is 
entitled  either  to  form  or  to  utter  any  conclusion  in 
regard  to  the  question. 

II.  A\liat  are  the  materials  of  judgment  in  discern- 
ing the  signs  of  the  times  ? 


94  Sermons 

1.  The  tendencies  of  the  age.  There  must  be  marked 
and  striking,  not  obscure  and  insignificant;  and  they 
must  be  wide-spread,  not  narrow  and  provincial,  espe- 
cially not  merely  local. 

2.  The  facts  of  the  times.  There  must  be  certain  and 
indubitable,  not  doubtful  and  impeachable;  and,  fur- 
ther, they  must  be  extensive  in  their  scope,  not  circum- 
scribed as  to  the  sphere  of  their  occurrence.  Our 
observation  must  sw^eep  the  horizon  all  around,  and 
must  read  the  whole  face  of  the  sky. 

3.  Our  study  must  be  directed  to  these  tendencies  and 
facts  alike  in  the  world  and  in  the  church. 

Such  are  at  least  some  of  the  leading  qualifications 
which  constitute  a  condition  precedent  to  a  correct  dis- 
cernment of  the  signs  of  the  times,  the  materials  for 
forming  a  judgment,  and  the  scope  of  our  observation. 

III.  Something  must  be  said  in  answer  to  the  ques- 
tions— what  is  the  future  event  to  which  these  signs 
are  believed  to  point?  What  are  their  relations  and 
bearings?  A\^iat  is  our  standard  of  judgment  in  our 
effort  to  discern  them?  and,  What  is  the  precise  end 
aimed  at  in  this  discourse? 

1.  The  great  future  event  to  which  the  signs  of  the 
times  are  believed  to  point  is  the  beginning  of  the  Mil- 
lennium,— a  period  to  be  characterized  by  certain  dis- 
tinctive features,  such  as  the  extrusion  of  the  Devil 
from  this  world  for  a  thousand  years,  and  the  reintro- 
duction  of  his  influence  at  the  close  of  that  period ;  the 
cessation  of  w^ar  and  the  universal  prevalence  of  peace ; 
the  general  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
nations;  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  and  the  Israelites 
to  their  own  land,  and  their  conversion  to  Christianity 
and  incorporation  into  the  Christian  Chuch  as  the  true 
and  full  development  of  their  own  ancient  church ;  the 


Girardeau  95 

overthrow  of  Moliammedanisin  and  its  elimination 
from  the  world ;  the  downfall  and  utter  destruction  and 
passing  away  of  the  Papal  apostasy ;  the  obliteration 
of  Paganism  with  all  its  hydra-headed  idolatry;  the 
banishment  from  the  world  of  all  false  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity and  all  manifestations  of  infidelity  in  its  pro- 
tean shapes;  the  suppression  of  all  that  can  be  called 
Antichrist,  either  organized  or  personal;  and  the  uni- 
versal reign  of  Christ  with  the  subjection  of  all  kings, 
organizations  and  nations  to  Him.  This  is  the  future 
period,  the  introduction  of  which  is  the  event  to  which 
the  signs  of  the  present  time  are  pointing. 

Its  beginning,  however,  will,  the  Scriptures  inform 
us,  be  preceded  by  a  great  tribulation  to  the  world  in- 
volving revolutions,  disorganizations  and  conflicts  on 
a  gigantic  scale,  culminating  in  "the  battle  of  that  great 
day  of  God  Almighty" — the  battle  of  Armageddon. 
When  one  period  is  passing  into  another,  it  does  not 
lapse  gently  into  it  by  a  process  of  assimilation,  as  a 
river  peacefully  flows  into  a  calm,  bright  ocean ;  but  as 
a  ship  crossing  a  stormy  bar  in  order  to  reach  the  blue 
harbor  beyond,  it  effects  the  change  with  a  catastrophe 
of  dislocation  which  the  Scriptures  characterize  as  a 
shaking.  Thus  the  Ante-diluvian  period  made  its 
transition  to  the  Noachian  through  a  cataclysm  which 
nearly  destroyed  the  race.  The  pre-Jewish  period 
passed  into  the  Jewish  with  a  mighty  shaking  of  the 
Egyptian  and  other  opposing  powers.  The  Jewish 
gave  way  to  the  Christian  with  throes  which  shook 
down  the  Jewish  church-state  and  polity.  The 
Reformation  was  introduced  with  convulsions  which 
shook  Europe,  and  shook  down  the  Papal  church  in 
several  parts  of  that  continent.  And  so,  the  present 
period  of  the  Christian  dispensation  will  accomplish 


96  Sermoxs 

the  change  to  the  Millennial  with  a  prodigious  shaking 
— through  unprecedented  conflicts,  the  toppling  down 
of  hoary  systems,  and  the  crash  of  "thrones,  principal- 
ities and  powers."'  It  is  a  law  that  changes  from  one 
great  disj)ensation  or  period  to  another  are  accom- 
panied b}"  upheavals  that  unhinge  the  customary  order 
of  things.  The  signs  of  our  times  point  ultimately  to 
the  introduction  of  the  Millennium,  proximately  to  the 
period  of  great  trouble  which  will  forerun  it. 

2.  A'V'Tiat  are  the  relations  and  bearings  of  the  signs 
of  the  times  as  here  considered?  The  ansAver  is,  that 
they  are  contemplated  as  relating  to  and  bearing  upon 
the  cause  and  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  Mediatorial 
Sovereign,  the  Saviour  and  Monarch  of  Zion,  and  the 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  They  are  not  viewed 
in  their  mereh^  secular  relations  and  bearings. 

3.  What  is  our  standard  of  judgment  in  our  efl'ort 
to  discern  them  ?  The  reply  is,  the  AVord  of  God,  and 
more  especially  the  prophetical  Scriptures.  There  is 
no  other  standard  possible.  Our  appeal  is  to  the  Law 
and  the  Testimony.  Here  Christ  himself  gives  us  the 
history,  past  and  future,  of  His  own  kingdom  on  this 
earth  which  he  purchased  and  marked  with  His  blood. 
Men  pompously  talk  of  the  philosophy  of  history. 
They  do  but  babble.  The  only  philosophy  of  history 
worth  the  name  is  that  found  in  the  person  and  work 
of  Jesus  Christ.  History  apart  from  this  key  is  a 
m&re  set  of  chronicles.  "'So  Tibni  died,  and  Omri 
reigned."  So  Babylon  died,  and  Greece  reigned.  So 
Greece  died,  and  Rome  reigned.  So  Rome  Pagan  died, 
and  Rome  ecclesiastical  reigned.  ^Tiat  does  it  all 
amount  to?  Nothing,  but  a  long  series  of  failures  due 
to  sin,  unless  the  kingdom  of  Christ  be  the  end.  All 
has  been  but  a  preparation  for  the  dominion  of  Him 


Girardeau  97 

who  is  destined  to  reign — as  no  mortal  has  yet  reigned 
— from  sea  to  sea  and  from  pole  to  pole.  Wearing 
upon  his  brow  a  manifold  crown  blazing  with  the 
blended  lustre  of  every  gem,  and  seated  upon  the  throne 
of  world-wide  empire,  Jesus  shall  gather  up  into  the 
hands  that  were  nailed  to  the  tree  the  threads  of  uni- 
versal history.  Here  history  will  meet  its  unity.  The 
Bible  is  the  statute-book  of  His  kingdom  and  the  his- 
tory of  its  development.  This  is  our  standard  of  judg- 
ment. 

4.  What  is  the  end  aimed  at  in  this  discourse?  It 
scarcely  needs  remark  that  it  is  to  show,  that  the  signs 
of  the  times  indicate  the  approach  of  those  critical 
changes  which  will  usher  in  the  period  of  Christ's 
Millennial  reign. 

IV.  Let  us  begin  with  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the 
world  at  large. 

1.  Notice  the  status  of  the  great  Eastern  and  Western 
apostasies  from  Christianity — Mohammedanism  and 
Popery.  And  let  it  be  remembered  that  our  standard 
of  comparison  is  the  prophecies  of  Scripture.  To  each 
of  these  systems  these  prophecies  assign  a  living  period 
of  1260  years.  It  must  here  be  assumed — what  is  well- 
nigh  universally  conceded,  and  what  could  easily  be 
proved,  did  time  permit — that  1260  "days"  of  prophecy 
are  1260  years.  It  must  also  be  assumed — for  the  time 
allotted  to  this  discourse  is  limited- — what  is  also  gen- 
erally admitted,  that  the  1260  years  apply  both  to  the 
career  of  Mohammedanism  and  that  of  the  Papacy. 
Let  one  study  the  book  of  Revelation  and  he  will  prob- 
ably be  convinced  of  this.^ 

^For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  interesting  subject  see  "Appendix 
to  the  Discussion  of  Romanism"  in  Discussions  of  Theological  Ques- 
tions by  the  author,  page  228. 


98  Sermons 

The  forty  and  two  months  of  Daniel  are  1260  years. 
Multiply  forty-two  by  thirty — the  average  number  of 
days  to  a  month,  and  you  have  1260.  Daniel's  time, 
times  and  a  half  are  probably  also  1260  5^ears. 

The  great  difficulty  experienced  in  regard  to  this 
period  of  1260  years  has  been  in  fixing  the  date  from 
which  it  began  to  run.  On  the  supposition  that  Mo- 
hammedanism and  Popery  commenced  their  ascend- 
ency at  about  the  same  time  this  difficulty  vanishes. 
For  profane  history  definitely  informs  us  that  Mo- 
hammed was  born  in  570,  that  he  retired  into  the  cave 
of  Hera  in  606,  and  that  the  Hegira  or  his  removal 
from  Mecca  to  Medina  occurred  in  622.  Taking  this 
latest  date  of  622  as  the  point  of  departure,  the  1260 
years  expired  in  1882,  and  that  is  now  nearly  10  years 
past. 

How  does  this  bear  upon  the  times  of  the  Papacy? 
Not  alone  because  of  the  assumption  that  the  begin- 
nings of  the  careers  of  the  two  systems  were  synchron- 
ous, but  chiefly  because  of  the  fact,  that  the  fifth  vial 
of  Revelation  poured  out  on  the  seat  of  the  beast 
precedes  in  time  the  sixth  vial  discharged  upon  the 
Euphrates  and  effecting  its  drying  up.  It  is  significant 
that,  according  to  that  representation  in  the  Apo- 
calypse, Rome  is  fatally  damaged  before  Moham- 
medanism. 

Now  what  are  the  facts  which  constitute,  in  this 
relation,  impressive  signs  of  the  times?  The  first  is, 
that  in  1866  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  was  de- 
stroyed. How?  Victor  Emmanuel  and  his  great 
prime  minister  the  Count  di  Cavour  had  been  laboring 
to  secure  the  unification  of  the  states  of  Italy  into  one 
kingdom.  This  the  Pope  opposed  and  he  was  power- 
fully supported  by  Austria.     But  in  1866  the  eventful 


Girardeau  99 

battle  of  Sadowa  was  fought,  in  which  the  power  of 
Austria  was  so  seriously  crippled  by  Prussia,  that  it 
could  no  longer  be  used  to  thwart  the  designs  of  Cavour 
and  Emmanuel.  The  main  body  of  the  French  army 
which  had  protected  the  Pope  was  withdrawn  from 
Rome.  This  utterly  broke  the  temporal  sovereignty 
of  the  Pope.  The  Papal  States  were  absorbed  into  the 
unified  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  in  1870  King  Victor 
Emmanuel — significant  name ! — entered  Rome  in 
triumph  and  made  it  the  capital  of  his  kingdom.  Here, 
then,  was  the  most  striking  sign  of  the  times — the 
temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Pope  was  destroj'^ed;  and 
this  was  1260  years  from  the  date  of  the  decree  of  the 
Emperor  Phocas  (606)  which  invested  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  with  supreme  authority  over  the  Latin  church. 
I  cite  attention  to  this  stupendous  sign  of  the  times. 
Fgr  more  than  a  thousand  years  the  Popes  had  reigned 
in  Rome.  Now,  the  Pope  is,  civilly  speaking,  a  mere 
denizen  of  that  city,  with  his  spiritual  rights  reserved 
to  him. 

I  have  no  right  to  dogmatize  upon  the  subject,  but 
it  is  probable — there  are  indications  of  it  now — -that  a 
great  effort  will  be  made  to  restore  the  temporal  sover- 
eignty of  the  Pope.  If  so,  a  conflict  must  ensue  attended 
by  tremendous  results,  and  leading  on  to  the  battle  of 
the  great  day  of  God  Almight}^,  in  which  Antichrist, 
whatever  form  he  may  then  assume,  will,  with  all  his 
forces,  be  finally  extinguished. 

Further,  it  is  also  a  sign  of  the  times,  that  the  tem- 
poral supremacy  of  the  Pope,  which  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  his  temporal  sovereignty  over  the  Papal 
States, — his  temporal  supremacy  over  nations  and 
rulers  has  been  reduced  almost  to  naught. 


100  Sermons 

The  second  noteworthy  fact  is  one  in  the  recent 
history  of  the  Mohammedan  power.  The  very  day  on 
which,  in  1882,  the  despatch  of  Lord  Diifferin  to  the 
Home  Office,  announcing  the  fall  of  Alexandria  under 
the  British  bombardment,  was  exactly  1260  years  from 
the  date  of  the  Hegira.  That,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  occurred  in  622.  Add  to  that  number  1260  and 
you  have  1882.  Moreover,  the  very  day  of  the  year 
and  month  on  which  Alexandria  fell  was  the  day  of  the 
year  and  month  on  which  the  Hegira  took  place.  The 
latter  date  is  precisely  fixed  as  it  is  that  from  which 
the  Mohammedan  notation  starts,  just  as  ours  does 
from  the  date  of  the  birth  of  Christ.  Now,  the  fall  of 
Alexandria  broke  the  Moslem  power  in  Egypt  and 
virtually  subjected  that  country  to  English  domination. 
The  inference  is  obvious,  and  it  is  confirmed  by  the 
general  decadence  of  the  Turkish  power.  Here  again 
we  perceive  another  marked  sign  of  the  times,  concur- 
rent with  the  first  mentioned,  indicating  the  drying 
up  of  Mohammedanism,  as  the  first  does  the  downffill 
of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Papacy — both  pointing 
to  the  near  approach  of  the  close  of  this  period.  We 
cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  these  signs.  They  are  too 
obtrusive. 

It  may  be  asked.  How  is  it  that  if  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Papacy  has  been  already  broken,  the  end 
has  not  already  come?  The  answer  is  twofold:  first, 
because  if  the  temporal  power  is  destroyed  of  the 
Woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High  are,  as  predicted,  delivered 
out  of  her  persecuting  hand ;  she  can  fulminate  anathe- 
mas, but  she  cannot  burn  a  Protestant;  secondly,  be- 
cause Daniel  expressly  indicates  a  period  of  limited 
duration  supplementary  to  the  1260  years.     That  sup- 


Girardeau  101 

plementary  period  is  one  of  preparation  for  the  final, 
decisive  conflict;  and  I  believe  that  we  are  living  in  it 
now.  Let  us  not  solace  ourselves  with  the  cry  of 
Peace!  Peace!  The  great  guns  of  a  mighty  contest, 
which  no  well-meant  but  futile  resort  to  arbitration  can 
avert,  will  ere  long  begin  to  boom. 

It  deserves  remark  that  another  line  of  calculation 
founded  on  Daniel's  prophecy,  as  this  is  upon  Revela- 
tion, brings  the  period  which  closes  this  age  to  about 
the  end  of  the  present  century.  The  substantial  coin- 
cidence of  the  two  lines  is  remarkable.  But  let  it  be 
observed  that  I  have  not  spoken  alone  of  the  prophetic 
times,  but  have  directed  attention  to  undeniable  facts, 
falling  in  with  the  generally  adopted  interpretation  of 
those  times.  It  is  the  facts,  viewed  in  connection  with 
the  prophecies,  which  constitute  phenomenal  signs. 

I  have  dwelt,  at  what  may  prove  disproportionate 
length,  upon  these  signs,  because  I  deem  them  the  most 
important  of  our  time. 

2.  The  fact  must  be  signalized  as  one  of  the  signs 
of  our  times,  that  the  Jews  are,  to  some  extent,  return- 
ing to  their  own  land. 

The  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  declare  that 
they  will  be  restored  to  their  ancient  inheritance— the 
country  which  in  covenant  was  given  to  Abraham  and 
his  seed  for  a  perpetual  possession.  These  predictions 
are  far  too  literal  to  be  applied  to  their  spiritual  incor- 
poration into  the  same  church  Avith  Gentile  Christians. 
It  is  hardly  a  distinctive  characteristic  of  Christians 
to  own  lands  and  plant  vineyards;  and  it  is  certain 
that  such  is  not  the  tendency  of  Jews  in  their  expatri- 
ated condition;  nor  can  they  be  regarded  as  having 
been  exhaustively  fulfilled  in  the  return  from  the 
Babylonian    captivity.      One    or    two    considerations 


102  Sermons 

would  seem  decisive.  One  is  that  God  repeatedly 
asserts  that  He  will  gather  to  their  own  land  again 
both  Israel  and  Judah — making  a  clear  discrimination 
between  them.  That  certainly  has  not  yet  been  real- 
ized. Another  is,  that  God  assures  His  ancient  people 
that  when  He  shall  bring  them  again  to  their  own 
land  and  settle  them  after  their  old  estates,  He  will 
do  better  unto  them  than  at  their  beginnings.  That 
has  not  yet  received  fulfilment.  Another  is,  that  the 
land  shall  no  more  be  bereaved  of  men,  and  that 
restored  Judah  and  Israel  shall  no  more  be  plucked  up 
out  of  their  land.  And  still  another  is,  that  they  shall 
be  gathered  out  of  all  the  heathen  countries  whither 
they  had  been  dispersed.  None  of  these  predictions 
were  fulfilled  in  the  restoration  from  Babylon.  They, 
therefore,  await  fudfilment. 

Xow,  what,  in  this  relation,  are  the  discernible  signs 
of  the  times? 

I  have  often  said  in  the  past,  "When  you  see  the 
Jews  moving  to  Palestine,  then  look  for  the  coming 
end  of  this  period."  But  a  few  years  since  there  was  a 
Turkish  inhibition  upon  any  large  immigration  of 
Jews  into  the  Holy  Land.  That  has  to  a  considerable 
extent  been  removed.  A  few  years  ago  there  were  only 
15,000  Jews  in  Palestine.  Eecent  accounts  show  that 
they  now  number  80,000  and  more.  This  is  very 
remarkable.  True,  they  may  yet  be  expelled;  but  the 
presumption  is  mightily  against  that  supposition. 
They  are  engaging  in  agricultural  pursuits — another 
singular  fact.  It  is  reported  that  the  rains  which  had 
so  long  ceased  are  again  falling,  and  by  distintegrating 
the  rock  that  is  everywhere  found  imparting  a  rich 
fertilizer  to  the  soil.  Hotels  are  said  to  be  going  up 
at  prominent  points.    It  is  stated  that  a  railway  is  in 


Girardeau  103 

operation  from  the  Mediterranean  to  Damascus,  that 
one  is  building  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  still 
another  is  projected  from  Egypt  to  Syria.  One  is  re- 
minded of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah :  "In  that  day  shall 
there  be  a  highway  out  of  Egypt  to  Assyria."  The 
expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Russia  is  causing  many  of 
them  to  seek  an  asylum  in  their  ancient  land.  Societies 
transportation  of  Jews  to  Palestine.  Verily,  these  are 
are  said  to  be  organized  in  England  to  assist  in  the 
significant  facts  of  our  times.  Do  they  not  look  to  the 
occurrence  of  some  great  change? 

3.  Another  conspicuous  sign  of  the  times  is  the 
rapidly  increasing  evangelization  of  the  world.  It 
has  been  often  said  that  this  is  the  age  of  missions, 
that  the  Foreign  Missionary  enterprize  is  the  glory  of 
the  Nineteenth  century.  See  what  a  change  has  in  this 
respect  taken  place  since  1794,  when  William  Carey 
was  ridiculed  by  his  brethren  for  undertaking  a  mis- 
sion to  India,  and  asked  them  to  hold  the  rope  for  him 
while  he  ventured  down  into  the  well !  As  late  as  1833, 
in  this  section  of  our  favored  country,  it  was  considered 
foolhardy  for  Wilson  to  risk  himself  among  the  savage 
jungles  and  the  more  savage  tribes  of  the  African  coast, 
and  useless  for  Adger  to  waste  his  time  and  strength 
in  the  effort  to  enlighten  the  benighted  Armenians.  It 
^as  ten  years  after  the  beginning  of  this  century  that 
Mills,  Judson,  Nott  and  Newell  presented  an  address 
to  the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts  calling 
attention  to  the  wants  of  the  heathen  world.  It  was 
after  that  the  first  suggestions  were  offered  which  sub- 
sequently led  to  the  formation  of  the  American  Bible 
Society  and  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions.  What  behold  we  now  ?  The  grey 
dawn  of  a  century  ago  has  passed  through  the  flush 


104  Sermons 

of  rising  morn,  and  our  eyes  look  upon  the  bursting 
glories  of  the  sunrise.  It  is  not  meridian  day,  but  the 
light  that  is  glancing  on  headlands  and  suffusing  banks 
of  darkness  is  with  the  sure  prophecy  of  morning  des- 
tined to  illuminate  the  mountain  tops  and  bathe  the 
valleys  in  splendor.  Is  not  this  an  illustrious  sign  of 
the  times? 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  chief  impressiveness  of  this 
sign  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  our  Lord  declared: 
"This  gospel  of  the  kingdom  must  be  first  preached 
for  a  witness  to  all  nations,  and  then  shall  the  end 
come."  Now,  to  what  preaching  of  the  gospel  did 
Jesus  allude?  Was  it  the  apostolic  propagation  of  it? 
The  end  did  not  then  come.  Those  glorious  mission- 
aries liave  been  dead  for  eighteen  centuries,  and  the 
end  is  not  yet.  Was  it  the  Mellennial  propagation  of 
the  gospel?  Was  it  the  end  of  the  Millennium  He 
spoke  of?  Will  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  during 
that  period  be  attended  with  opposition,  persecution 
and  martyrdom?  Did  the  Savior  say  that  there  will 
occur  the  conversion  of  vast  multitudes  and  the  evan- 
gelization of  all  men,  and  then  the  end  shall  come? 
Nay.  The  gospel  shall  be  preached  for  a  witness  and 
then  shall  the  end  come.  The  erection  of  its  testimony 
in  all  nations  is  the  condition  precedent  to  the  coming 
of  the  end.  -^ 

Look  now  at  some  of  the  facts.  The  Bible  is  pub- 
lished in  nearly  300  human  dialects.  Every  Protestant 
country  is  swarming  with  missionary  organizations. 
More  than  that  every  Protestant  church  is,  or  ought  to 
be,  a  missionary  society.  What  a  host  of  centres  radia- 
ting gospel  light !  Thousands  of  volunteers  are  offer- 
ing themselves  to  go  on  Foreign  Missions,  outrunning 
the  available  means — I  say  not  the  means  which  ought 


Girardeau  105 

to  exist — of  the  church  to  send  them.  Converted 
churches  of  the  heathen  are  becoming  centres  of  mis- 
sionary propagation.  Every  native  church  is  a  foun- 
tain of  gospel  influence.  Let  us  not  be  told  that  every 
man  must  be  individually  approached  with  the  tidings 
of  redemption.  The  Lord  Jesus  does  not  specify  that 
as  the  condition  to  the  coming  end.  The  erection  of 
the  gospel  testimony  in  every  land  so  as  to  be  accessible 
to  all,  if  they  will,  this  is  what  He  mentions.  Soon, 
soon,  without  some  remarkable  interposition  of  provi- 
dence, must  this  condition  be  fulfilled.  "Wherever  a 
caravan  winds  its  way  across  a  trackless  desert,  that 
testimony  may  go  with  it.  \Vherever  the  agent  of  a 
trading  company  goes,  that  testimony  may  go  with 
him.  Wherever  a  traveler,  led  by  curiosity,  or  the  quest 
for  gain,  wends  his  wa}^,  thither  that  testimony  may 
and  ought  to  go  with  him.  The  near  approach  to  the 
erection  of  the  Gospel  testimony  in  all  nations  is  a 
clearly  discernible  sign  that  the  predicted  end  of  this 
age  is  coming. 

Akin  to  this  sign  of  increasing  evangelization,  is  one 
which  shines  so  brightly  that  it  commends  itself  to  the 
most  ordinary  observation, — the  swift  and  marvellous 
advancement  of  the  facilities  of  international  com- 
munication. The  first  passenger  railway  is  said  to  have 
been  operated  in  1821 ;  now  the  world  is  becoming 
reticulated  with  railway  lines.  Some  of  the  meshes 
of  the  network  are  even  reaching  to  poor  old  Palestine, 
once  the  land  of  milk  and  honey,  of  the  fig  and  the 
grape — a  sinner's  Paradise,  but  for  ages  no  better  than 
a  public  common,  and  so  long  ridden  down  and 
browsed  over  by  Bedouins  that  its  sterility  has  occa- 
sioned the  infidel  doubt  whether  God  himself  can 
restore  it  to  fertility.     But  why  paint  the  means  of 


106  Sermons 

international  transit?  Wliat  with  transcontinental 
railroads  and  transoceanic  steamship  lines,  with  tele- 
graphs and  telephones,  the  nations  are  getting  to  be 
like  next-door  neighbors  hailing  each  other  from  their 
door-steps.  It  has  been  frequently  remarked  that  the 
Roman  military  roads  opened  the  way  for  the  rapid 
extension  of  early  Christianity ;  but  what  were  they, 
compared  with  that  world-wide  system  of  quick  inter- 
communication which  is  now  preparing  the  nations  for 
the  fellowship  of  the  gospel  and  the  golden  age  of  the 
earth?  for  a  delightful,  Christian  communion  of  the 
peoples  of  the  globe,  unobstructed  by  Papal  bigotry, 
Mohammedan  ferocity,  and  Pagan  idolatry,  by  infidel 
godlessness,  formal  churchism  and  the  hostilities  of 
sects  ? 

4.  Another  cosmic  sign  to  which  attention  is  directed 
is  the  highest  conclusions  of  modern  philosophy  and 
philosojDhic  science. 

In  the  "fulness  of  time"  God  introduced  Christianity 
into  the  world.  Among  the  elements  which  went  to 
make  up  this  fulness  of  time  was  the  exhaustive  at- 
tempt of  the  Greek  philosphy,  upon  grounds  of  natural 
reason,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  universe.  If  it  had 
been  possible  for  mere  philosophy  to  have  found  out 
God,  it  is  probable  that  the  discovery  would  have  been 
made  by  the  master  minds  of  Greece.  No  more  subtle 
intellects  ever  existed  on  earth.  But  the  result  was,  as 
the  apostle  Paul  says,  that  "the  world  by  wisdom  knew 
not  God."  A  brilliant  historian  of  the  course  of 
philosophy  has  observed,  that  the  Greek  philosophy 
early  began  to  develop  itself  in  the  two  forms  of  Ideal- 
ism on  the  one  hand,  and  Sensualism,  or  Empiricism 
on  the  other.  Plato,  although  not  exclusively,  was  pre- 
dominantly, an   Idealist.     Aristotle,  his  great  pupil. 


Girardeau  107 

although  not  exclusively,  was  predominantly  an  Em- 
j)iricist.  Neither  of  these  supreme  thinkers,  pursuing 
his  own  peculiar  path  of  speculation,  found  out  God. 
Why?  Because  both  asserted  the  eternity  of  matter. 
The  God  they  affirmed  was  not  the  Creator  of  matter; 
and  therefore  was  limited  and  conditioned  by  it  as  co- 
eternal  with  himself.  He  could  not,  therefore,  be 
infinite,  and  a  God  not  infinite  is  no  God  at  all.  The 
Greek  philosophy  both  as  Idealistic  and  Empirical  had 
expended  its  amazing  strength,  and  yet  failed  to  know 
God.  Then  came  the  manifestation  of  God  in  the  per- 
son of  His  Incarnate  Son,  and  in  the  gospel  which  is 
His  wisdom  and  His  power. 

How  is  it  with  modern  philosophy?  The  same  ac- 
complished historian  of  philosophy,  to  whom  allusion 
has  already  been  made,  makes  the  noteworthy  remark 
that  modern  philosophy,  upon  the  removal  of  the 
shackles  of  mediaeval  ecclesiasticism  and  the  revival  of 
letters,  developed  itself  precisel}'  as  the  Greek  philos- 
ophy had,  along  the  lines  of  Idealism  and  Empiricism. 
Of  the  one  tendency  Descartes  was  the  leading  origin- 
ator and  exponent,  of  the  other  Lord  Bacon.  Now,  has 
philosophy,  thus  projected  afresh  upon  independent 
principles,  succeeded  better  in  its  quest  for  God  as  its 
ultimate  of  ultimates  than  did  the  Greek  philosophy 
in  the  hands  of  Plato,  Aristotle  and  their  distinguished 
followers  ?  The  answer  to  that  question  must  be  sought, 
so  far  as  the  Idealistic  philosophy  is  concerned,  in  the 
Transcendental  or  Absolutist  school  of  Germany.  Here 
we  have  a  magnificent  galaxy  of  philosophers,  who  for 
ripe  scholarship,  habits  of  patient  investigation,  and 
the  subtlest  and  profoundest  powers  of  abstract 
thought,  have  never  been  surpassed,  if  indeed  equalled, 
in  ancient  or  modern  times.     Here  if  anywhere  were 


108  Sermons 

the  conditions  for  the  quest  of  God  by  speculation. 
This  iUustrious  school  began  with  Immanuel  Kant. 
How  did  he  succeed?  He  reached  the  conclusion  that 
the  being  of  God  is  indemonstrable  upon  gi'ounds  of  the 
theoretical  or  speculative  reason.  Did  his  next  fol- 
lower do  any  better?  Fichte  first  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  God  is  nothing  more  than  the  moral  order  of 
the  world — an  abstract  law  without  personality.  He 
ended  with  holding  that  God  is  merely  Life  as  the 
beginning  of  all  things.  Then  came  Schelling,  whose 
final  conclusion,  after  much  elephantine  floundering, 
was  that  God  is  the  impersonal  Absolute  who  develops 
himself  into  Nature  and  then,  by  a  wonderful  circum- 
gyration, reabsorbs  himself  as  nature  into  himself  as 
the  Absolute.  One  cannot  help  thinking  of  a  blind 
horse  in  a  mill,  going  round  and  round. 

Finally  came  Hegel,  the  climax  of  this  brilliant  suc- 
cession. His  ultimate  conclusion  was  that  God  is  pure 
Idea.  But  as  pure  Idea  is  no  substance  and  no  person, 
it  follows  that  there  is  nothing  to  have  an  idea — God 
is  Nothing!  Well  may  we  exclaim,  You  have  taken 
away  our  God  and  left  us  nothing  in  His  place.  This 
vaunted  school  of  modern  Idealistic  philosophy  has 
exhausted  itself,  and  all  its  Titanic  efforts  have  ended 
in  nothing.  Verily,  again  it  is  true  that  the  world  by 
wisdom  knows  not  God. 

Turn  we  now  to  the  school  of  Philosophic  Science, 
which  in  England  and  Germany — Protestant  England 
and  Germany — has  pushed  the  principles  of  Empiri- 
cism to  their  latest  development.  Part  of  it  affirms 
bald,  undisguished  Atheism,  saying  openly,  No  God ! 
no  God !  and  part  of  it  maintains  the  practical  equiva- 
lent of  professed  Atheism — the  doctrine  of  an  imper- 
sonal, unintelligent.  Infinite  Force.     This  is  the  posi- 


Girardeau  109 

tion  of  Tyndal,  Huxley,  and  Herbert  Spencer,  the  con- 
fessed philosopher  of  the  school  of  Evolutionary 
Science.  They  have  boxed  the  compass,  have  by  an 
evolution  of  centuries  of  speculative  deduction  from 
the  phenomenal  facts  of  science,  returned  to  the  old 
Greek  doctrine  of  the  eternity  of  matter;  with  this 
advantage,  however,  in  favor  of  the  ancient  pagans — • 
that  they  distinguished  between  an  eternal  matter  and 
God  as  an  eternal,  personal  Spirit.  There  are  many 
scientific  men  who  reverently  accept  the  Bible  and 
Christianity.  I  speak  now  of  the  philosophers  of  the 
Empirical  school.  Herbert  Spencer  professes  to  de- 
velop the  philosophy  of  that  school;  and  he  scouts 
the  Bible,  Christianity,  an  atoning  Savior,  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  a  personal  God.  These  two  philosophic 
schools,  notwithstanding  that  they  enjoyed  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  history  of  Greek  philosophy,  and  the 
still  more  signal  advantage  of  the  conditions  furnished 
by  Christianity,  have  refused  to  profit  by  the  errors  of 
the  one  and  the  truths  of  the  other,  and  have  formu- 
lated the  conclusion  of  either  a  disguised  or  an  open 
Atheism.  Here,  then,  we  behold  another  prodigious 
sign  'of  the  times.  Another  "fulness  of  time"  has  been 
reached,  the  world  by  wisdom  knows  not  God,  and 
there  is  an  imperative  call  for  a  new  interposition  of 
Christ.  Oh,  the  patience  and  forbearance  of  God, 
which,  after  all  He  has  done  for  our  fallen  race,  en- 
dures the  monsters  who,  frocked  and  capped  as  phil- 
osophers, blaspheme  His  Name  and  deny  His  Being ! 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly,  and  abate  the  horrible 
nuisance ! 

5.  Another  flaming  sign  of  the  times  is  the  Lawless 
Radicalism,  which  mrnifests  itself  in  Communism, 
Socialism,  Anarchism,  Nihilism.     Not  one  word  would 


110  Sermons 

I  say  against  the  assertion  of  the  just  rights  of  the 
working-classes.  Were  they  not  so  old,  oppression  and 
tyranny  might  be  signalized,  but  they  are  not  peculiar 
signs  of  our  times.  They  are  as  old  as  the  hills.  But 
this  fell  Spirit  fears  not  God,  neither  regards  man. 
Xot  satisfied  with  the  maintenance  of  republican 
rights,  it  inflames  a  "fierce  democratic,"  and  threatens 
to  tear  down  the  pillars  of  God's  throne,  and  to  level 
to  the  dust  every  form  of  human  government,  secular 
and  ecclesiastical.  Despising  every  command  of  the 
Decalogue,  in  both  its  tables,  obliterating  the  worship 
of  God,  sj)onging  out  the  Sabbath,  violating  property- 
rights,  burning  up  the  marriage  covenant  in  the  wild 
fire  of  passion,  flouting  the  Mediatorial  King  whom 
God  hath  set  upon  His  holy  hill  of  Zion,  its  cry  will 
be,  Down  wath  the  Cross !  and  down  with  the  Bible ! 
Under  its  frenzied  inspiration  see  how  the  masses  fret 
and  foam  like  an  ocean  lashed  into  fury.  They  are, 
in  the  figure  of  Scripture,  a  tumultuous  sea  with  roar- 
ing waves.  They  will  yet  assert  themselves.  They  will 
wipe  out  the  Pope  himself,  for  he  is  a  government. 
The  Beast  that  carries  the  woman  arrayed  in  scarlet, 
and  holding  out  the  cup  of  her  enchantments  to  the 
nations,  will  throw  her  down  and  trample  her  under  its 
feet.  Emerging  from  the  seething  crater  of  the  mighty 
revolution,  some  gi'eat  and  wicked  genius,  elected  by 
the  plebiscite  of  the  triumphant  democracy,  or  seizing 
the  reins  of  empire  by  arbitrary  will,  will  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  innumerable  hosts,  and  advance  to  the 
destruction  of  the  church  of  Christ  both  in  its  Jewish 
and  Gentile  wings.  Nor  will  his  victorious  career  be 
checked,  until  on  the  fateful  field  of  Armageddon,  his 
pendent  horsebridles  are  dabbled  in  tides  of  blood,  and 
his  hopes  are  sunk  in  the  lake  that  burns  with  brim- 


Girardeau  111 

stone  and  with  fire.     Such  is  the  predicted  doom  of 
the  supreme  and  final  Antichrist. 

Along  with  this,  as  cognate  to  it,  may  be  mentioned 
another  sign  of  the  times — the  fearful  growth  of  Oc- 
cultism, the  hellish  art  of  black  magic  and  necromancy. 
Millions  now  profess  Spiritualism  as  a  religion.  It  can- 
not be  laughed  away,  it  cannot  be  sneered  down,  it  can- 
not be  explained  away  upon  reputed  scientific  grounds. 
It  is  based  in  a  natural  craving  of  the  human  mind 
to  read  the  dread  secrets  of  the  invisible  world,  and  to 
hold  communion  with  the  dead.  That  departed  human 
beings  communicate  with  the  so-called  mediums  is  a 
delusion  of  the  Devil.  But  demoniacal  influence  is  a 
stern  reality.  As  devils  possessed  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  men  at  the  first  advent,  so  may  they  exert  an  extra- 
ordinary and  phenomenal  poAver  just  before  the  glo- 
rious establishment  of  Jesus'  millennial  kingdom.  The 
Scriptures  lead  us  to  expect  it.  Before  that  great  Beast, 
the  Antichrist  already  described,  we  are  told  that  the 
False  Prophet  will  work  miracles.  Not  that  they  will 
be  real,  genuine  miracles,  for  they  can  only  be  wrought 
by  God's  immediate  efficiency  and  hence  their  value  as 
divine  credentials;  but  they  will  be  counterfeits  so 
ingenious  that  the  masses  of  unbelievers  will  be  im- 
posed upon  by  them,  and  even  the  very  elect,  were  it 
possible,  would  be  deceived.  Armed  with  this  demon- 
iacal, necromantic,  magical  support,  the  great  Anti- 
christian  Beast  will  delude  the  superstitious  peoples, 
and  threaten  to  sweep  all  before  him.  Let  none  who 
fear  God  have  anything  to  do  with  fortune-tellers  and 
conjurers  with  the  dead.  The  Word  of  God  says  that 
"sorcerers"  shall  have  their  part  in  the  burning  lake. 
The  whole,  wretched  thing  is  of  the  Devil,  and  is  a  sign 
of  Antichristian  apostasy. 


112  Sermons 

6.  The  only  other  sign  of  the  times  to  which  I  shall 
briefl}^  advert  is  the  awful  and  monitory  portents  of 
nature. 

The  prophets  and  our  blessed  Lord  himself  lead  us 
to  look  for  them  as  signs  of  the  crisis  that  is  coming. 
It  will  be  said,  They  have  always  occurred.  This  is 
utterly  rash.  There  may  be  some  that  will  be  wholly 
new.  But  granted  that  others  have  taken  place  in  the 
past,  they  may  be  intensified  in  degree,  and  multiplied 
in  number.  I  allude  to  but  one  kind  of  them  now.  Let 
it  serve  as  a  sample.  Jesus  says  that  there  shall  be 
earthquakes  in  divers  places.  Do  you  say,  Earth- 
quakes have  occurred  all  along  in  the  past.  Listen  to 
this  statement.  From  the  year  1500  to  1800 — three 
centuries — there  were  2,804  earthquakes.  From  1800 
to  1882 — little  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  century — 
there  were  6,637.^  Is  not  that  significant?  This  poor, 
sin-cursed  earth  is  groaning  and  travailing  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  and  it  is  no  marvel  if 
natural  portents  indicate  the  approaching  hour  of  her 
millennial  redemption. 

But  enough !  Yet  a  little  while  and  he  shall  come, 
will  come  and  will  not  tarry.  Even  so.  Come,  Lord 
Jesus !     Amen. 


^From   Canon   Fausset's   article   in   the   London   Theological  Monthly 
for  February,  1889,  who  cites  as  authority  Mr.  Mallet,  C.  E. 


Girardeau  113 

THE  SIGNS  OF  THE  TIMES— IN  THE 
CHURCH 

Matt.  xvi.  3 :  "(9  ye  hypocrites^  ye  can  discerii  the 
face  of  the  sky ;  hut  can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times  f'' 

In  the  discourse  upon  these  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
which  was  delivered  on  the  last  Sabbath,  attention  was 
directed  to  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  world  at  large. 
The  face  of  the  secular  sky  was  scanned,  and  marked 
indications  were  discovered  of  the  approach  of  a  great, 
critical  change  in  the  world's  history  and  attitude, 
which  is  the  predicted  forerunner  of  the  Millennial 
period. 

V.  Let  us  now  turn  our  gaze  towards  the  signs  of  the 
times  in  the  sphere  of  the  Church. 

In  order  to  avert  misapprehension  and  to  secure 
definiteness,  certain  considerations  need  to  be  premised. 

First,  One  who  undertakes  to  discern  and  note  the 
signs  of  the  times  in  the  ecclesiastical  sky,  and  who  is 
conscious  of  his  own  imperfections  and  sins,  must 
shrink  from  assuming  the  office  of  a  censorious  critic 
of  the  Church,  and  deprecate  being  regarded  in  that 
light.  He  is  no  fierce  inquisitor  searching  for  grounds 
of  accusation  against  the  church,  no  unfeeling  prose- 
cutor filing  an  indictment  against  her.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  he  follow  the  example  of  prophets  and  apostles 
and  even  of  Jesus  Himself,  he  will  weep  while  he 
points  out  the  sins  of  the  church  and  warns  her  of 
the  judgments  which  follow  in  their  train.  Like  Jere- 
miah he  will  exclaim,  "Oh,  that  my  head  were  waters 


114  Sermons 

and  my  eyes  fountains  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day 
and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people !" 
and,  with  our  Lord  at  the  gate  of  guilty  and  doomed 
Jerusalem,  break  forth  into  the  pathetic  lament,  "Oh, 
that  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou  in  this  thy  day,  the 
things  that  belong  unto  thy  peace ! " 

At  the  same  time,  if  he  be  clad  with  zeal  as  a  cloak, 
and  is  penetrated  by  a  regard  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
for  His  cause  on  earth,  how  can  he  refrain  from  a  holy 
indignation,  when  he  beholds  His  commands  violated 
and  His  truth  fallen  in  the  street.  His  sanctuary  dese- 
crated. His  ordinances  perverted,  and  a  society  profess- 
ing to  be  the  fair  bride  of  the  Lamb  defiled  by  unhal- 
lowed fellowshii^  with  a  Christless  world?  How  can 
he  forbear  to  cry  out  and  spare  not,  to  lift  up  his  voice 
like  a  trumpet,  and  show  the  Lord's  people  their  trans- 
gressions and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins  ?  Appointed 
a  watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion,  under  orders  to  warn 
of  the  apjjroaching  sword,  commissioned  as  a  witness 
for  the  truth  of  God  and  charged  to  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  how,  if  he 
suppress  his  warnings  and  sink  his  testimony,  can  he 
escape  the  sentence  of  a  dumb  dog  that  will  not  bark, 
lying  down  and  loving  to  slumber?  How  will  he  get 
quit  of  the  blood  of  the  poor  innocents  when  inquisi- 
tion shall  be  made  for  it  in  the  Lord's  avenging  day? 
Brethren,  I  confess  that  popularity  is  sweet  and  the" 
esteem  of  one's  fellowmen  delightful  to  a  naturally 
aspiring  heart,  but  when  one  fixes  his  eye  on  the  gory 
sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  and  hears  in  his  ear  the  bray  of 
the  judgment  trump,  all  other  motives,  all  other  consid- 
erations fade  into  nothingness  in  comparison  with 
fidelity  to  Jesus  and  the  souls  of  men.  Such  ought  to 
be  the  temper  of  one  who  essays  to  point  out  threaten- 


Girardeau  115 

ing  signs  in  the  firmament  and  the  atmosphere  of  the 
church. 

Secondly,  The  question  must  here  be  settled,  What 
is  the  church  in  the  sphere  of  which  the  attempt  is  now 
essayed  to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times?  I  answer. 
The  Protestant  Church.  In  the  preceding  discourse, 
Mohammedanism  and  the  Papacy  were  together 
viewed  as  belonging  to  the  world  and  not  to  the  church 
of  God.  The  Roman  communion  professes  to  be  the 
Christian  Church,  and  anathematizes  all  who  do  not 
belong  to  it.  Loosely  speaking,  it  is  common  to  de- 
nominate it  a  part  of  the  nominal  or  professing  church. 
But,  strictly  speaking,  if  it  be  characterized  in  the 
Scriptures  as  Antichristian,  how  can  it  be  a  part  of  the 
true  church?  Surely  the  Babylon  of  the  Apocalypse 
is  Antichristian  or  language  conveys  no  meaning. 
Now,  is  the  Church  of  Rome  the  Babylon  described  in 
the  Book  of  Revelation?  If  any  Protestant  is  in 
doubt  on  that  question,  let  him  read  the  argument  of  a 
High-churchman,  a  canon  in  the  Church  of  England, 
Dr.  Wordsworth,  and  if  he  can  be  convinced  by  any 
argument,  he  will  by  that. 

All  other  false  forms  of  Christianity  were  also  in- 
cluded in  the  sphere  of  the  world.  They  are  labelled 
Christian,  and  that  is  all.  Judas  was  called  an  apostle, 
but  he  betrayed  his  Master,  lost  his  office,  and  went  to 
his  own  place.  That  place  was  not  heaven,  as  his  place 
on  earth  had  not  been  the  church. 

It  is,  then,  the  Protestant  Church  of  which  I  now 
speak,  whatever  may  be  the  opinions  held  by  others  as 
to  the  scope  of  the  visible  church.  Protestantism  was 
not  simply,  as  the  name  might  suggest,  a  protest  against 
Romanism ;  it  was  more  than  that.  It  was  a  positive 
affirmation   of   two   great   complementary    principles: 


116  Sermons 

first,  the  right,  before  man's  bar,  of  private  judgment, 
involving  liberty  of  conscience,  and,  secondly,  the  in- 
fallibility and  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures.  The  Prot- 
estant is  a  man  never  addicted  to  swear  according  to 
the  words  of  any  human  master;  always  addicted  to 
swear  according  to  the  words  of  a  divine  Master.  The 
judgment  and  the  conscience  are  not  bound  by  reason 
speaking  apart  from  the  church,  the  position  of  the 
Rationalist,  nor  by  reason  speaking  through  the 
church,  the  position  of  the  Romanist;  that  is,  they  are 
not  bound  by  the  dictates  of  man,  but  they  are  bound 
by  the  dictates  of  God,  and  the  dictates  of  God  are 
found  in  the  Scriptures  and  in  the  Scriptures  alone. 
The  ultimate  standard  of  authority  as  to  religious  truth 
is  precisely  the  Scriptures.  The  private  judgment, 
whether  of  the  individual  or  of  the  church  collectivelj'^, 
is  never  that  ultimate  standard  or  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  It  is  true  that  if  the  question  be.  What  is  the 
Supreme  Judge  that  determines  all  differences  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  sujoreme  standard  and  rule,  the 
answer  is.  in  the  words  of  the  Westminster  Confession  : 
The  Supreme  Judge  is  the  Holy  Ghost  speaking  in  the 
Scriptures.  Xow.  granted  that  the  judgment  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  speaking  in  the  Scriptures  is  certified  and 
attested  to  the  soul  by  the  inward  witness  of  the  spirit, 
that  witness  is  delivered  to  the  soul,  not  derived  from 
it.  It  is  in  this  resjoect  like  the  gospel  which  is  God's 
report.  His  saying  to  man,  not  a  religion  evolved  from 
within  man.  The  Scriptures  are  an  external,  ulti- 
mately authoritative  standard  or  rule.  They  are  the 
inspired  product  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  that  standard 
or  rule  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  alone  is  capable  of  judg- 
ing of  its  true  meaning,  as  it  is  His  product,  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  believer's  soul.      The  witness,   therefore, 


Girardeau  117 

comes  from  without  and  is  brought  by  supernatural 
power  into  the  soul.  It  is,  accordingly,  not  faith, 
which,  as  our  own,  springs  from  within. 

Here  is  the  mistake  of  some  of  the  Lutheran  and 
Dutch  theologians,  and  of  some  British  and  American 
writers  who  follow  them.  They  make  faith  the  same 
as  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  take  the  ground  that 
while  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  is  what  they  term 
the  normative  principle  of  religion,  faith  is  the  mate- 
rial principle.  The  plain  meaning  is  that  there  are 
two  standards  or  rules  co-ordinate  with  each  other.  No. 
There  is  but  one  standard,  the  Bible,  and  faith,  as  re- 
ceiving and  obeying  that  standard,  is  subordinate  to  it. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  long  upon  this  subject  because  a 
clear  conception  of  it  is  vital  to  the  position  taken  in 
this  discussion.  If  the  Bible  is  one  standard,  and  our 
experience  is  another,  or  if  our  experience  determines 
the  Bible  and  not  the  Bible  our  experience,  there  is  an 
end  of  discussion.  We  are  at  sea;  every  man  makes 
his  own  Bible — has  his  own  standard.  But  if  the 
Bible  be  the  sole,  ultimate,  supreme  standard,  then  the 
church's  experience,  doctrines,  life  must  conform  to  it 
or  be  wrong.  This  determines  the  posture  of  the 
church  as  pure  or  not.  If  she  conforms  to  the  Scrip- 
tures she  is  a  pure  church;  if  she  does  not,  she  is  in 
declension  and  is  in  danger  of  apostasy.  This  is  the 
Protestant  position,  and  as  we  profess  to  be  Protest- 
ants, this  is  our  accepted  standard  of  judgment.  Let 
it  be  observed,  then,  that  in  speaking  of  the  signs  of 
the  times  in  the  church,  the  comparison  is  made  of  her 
condition  with  the  requirements  of  the  Scriptures. 

Thirdly,  there  must  be  some  special  principle,  some 
rule  of  thinking,  by  which  we  are  to  be  guided  in  esti- 
mating the  bearing  of  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the 


118  Sermons 

church,  in  accordance  with  which  we  can  tell  whether 
they  are  pointing  to  some  great  change.  Let  it  be 
remembered  that,  as  has  been  already  announced,  the 
purpose  of  this  discussion  is  to  show  that  the  signs  of 
the  times  are  pointing  to  such  a  critical  change. 

That  guiding  principle  or  rule  for  our  thinking  on 
the  subject  is  this:  Facts  and  Scripture  alike  prove 
that  the  closing  of  one  period  and  the  beginning  of 
another  are  foreshadowed  by  great  degeneracy  in  the 
church — that  is,  by  a  signal  departure  of  the  church 
from  conformity  with  the  standard  of  God's  word,  and 
a  marked  diminution  rather  than  an  increase  in  her 
spiritual  growth,  a  downward  tendency  to  hopeless  cor- 
ruption in  doctrine  and  in  practice.  Let  us  expand 
and  illuminate  this  position,  which  constitutes  our 
point  of  view. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  law — for  such  it  must 
be  considered — that,  in  the  history  of  the  church,  de- 
clension has  been  followed  by  revival,  corruption  by 
restoration.  In  nothing,  perhaps,  are  the  obstinate 
malignity  of  sin  ^nd  the  marvellous  grace  of  God  more 
conspicuously  manifested  than  in  the  steady  operation 
of  this  law.  The  Adamic  probation  closed  with  the 
horror  of  the  Fall,  and  was  at  once  succeeded  by  the 
creation  of  hope  in  the  bosom  of  despair  by  the  reve- 
lation of  the  first  promise  of  redemption.  The  Pa- 
triarchal dispensation  began  with  the  pure  worship 
and  service  of  God,  but  ere  long  pitched  downward 
into  the  devilish  wickedness  that  provoked  the  catas- 
trophe of  the  Flood.  Immediately  the  Noachian  period 
commenced  with  a  fresh  outburst  of  Gospel  light, 
which  was  before  long  extinguished  in  the  black  dark- 
ness of  idolatry.  The  Abrahamic  period  emerged  from 
that  idolatrous  night,  and  sunk  into  the  mud-yards  of 


Girardeau  119 

Egypt  and  the  besotted  glutting  of  the  chosen  people 
with  the  fish,  cucumbers  and  melons,  the  leeks,  onions 
and  garlic  of  a  debasing  servitude  to  a  godless  power. 
The  Jewish  dispensation  opened  with  the  redemption 
of  the  church,  her  passage  through  the  cleft  but  roar- 
ing waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  blaze  of  constellations 
of  miracles  in  her  sky,  and  the  promulgation  of  the 
law  amidst  awful  solemnities  and  the  magnificent  em- 
blems of  the  divine  presence  which  shot  from  Sinai 
like  horns  of  light  and  astonished  the  surrounding 
nations. 

What  now?  Hardly  w^ere  the  elders  who  outlived 
Joshua  cold  in  their  graves  before  there  began  a  series 
of  defections  to  idolatry  and  succeeding  restorations 
until  the  patience  of  God  was  exhausted,  the  ten  tribes 
were  broken  up  and  scattered  to  the  winds,  and  the 
Jews  were  dragged  into  Babylonian  captivity.  Judah 
and  Benjamin  are  restored  to  their  own  land,  and  their 
temple  and  city  rebuilt,  they  are  started  upon  a  new 
career.  True,  the  hard  blows  of  the  divine  judgments 
had  snapped  from  their  stiff  necks  the  yoke  of  open 
idolatry,  and  they  were  projected  afresh  upon  condi- 
tions the  most  auspicious,  but  they  soon  rushed  upon 
that  downgrade  of  defection  and  apostasy  which  cul- 
minated first  in  the  murder  of  their  Messiah  and  incar- 
nate God,  and  finally  in  the  demolition  of  the  Jewish 
church-state  and  polity  amid  throes  of  anguish  and 
gulfs  of  blood. 

The  remnant,  according  to  the  election  of  grace,  after 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  were  organized  into  the  nas- 
cent Christian  church;  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  was 
poured  out  on  the  golden  day  of  Pentecost;  numbers 
were  added  to  the  infant  communion,  a  holy,  loving, 
evangelistic  genius  was  infused  into  it,  and  such  a  won- 


120  Sermons 

derful  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith  by  apostolic 
missionaries  took  place  as  entitled  Paul  to  appropriate 
to  it  the  glowing  language  of  the  nineteenth  Psalm, 
"Their  sound  has  gone  out  into  all  the  world,  and  their 
words  to  the  ends  of  the  world."  Glorious  renascence ! 
Could  it  be  followed  by  another  descent  into  corrup- 
tion and  apostasy  ?  Alas !  the  development  of  heresy 
began  in  the  first  churches  organized  by  the  apostles, 
calling  forth  their  solemn  admonitions  before  they  fell 
asleep;  and  that  development  never  ceased  until  the 
night  of  Romish  apostasy  and  of  the  dark  ages  envel- 
oped the  church  as  with  a  pall,  only  a  thin  line  of  wit- 
nesses being  left  to  preserve  the  thread  of  connection 
with  apostolic  times. 

Once  more  the  mercy  of  God  interposed,  the  sun  of 
the  reformation  broke  forth  from  the  gross  darkness 
that  enshrouded  Christendom,  and,  lo !  a  new  restora- 
tion was  effected.  The  Protestant  Church,  born  of 
that  regeneration,  has,  with  alternate  declensions  and 
revivals,  come  away  almost  four  centuries  from  that 
critical  change,  almost  the  same  time  that  elapsed  from 
the  return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylonish  captivity  to 
the  first  advent  of  Christ.  This  history  of  the  church's 
defections  and  recoveries  in  all  the  past  challenges  our 
serious  reflection;  and  the  question  now  springs  up 
before  us  and  must  be  confronted.  Has  not  the  Prot- 
estant Church  degenerated  from  her  early  standard  of 
conformity  to  the  word  of  God,  and  are  there  not  signs 
now  appearing  that  the  church  is  approaching  another 
great  revolution? 

In  the  second  place,  strengthening  that  rule  for  our 
thinking  in  an  attempt  to  estimate  the  signs  of  the 
times,  are  the  New  Testament  predictions  that  in  the 
last  days  great  defections  shall  take  place  in  the  church 


Girardeau  121 

from  the  pure  standard  of  the  Scriptures,  especially 
that  teachers  shall  arise  who  will  inculcate  false  doc- 
trines and  draw  away  the  people  with  them.  There  is 
not  time  to  quote  the  passages,  and  perhaps  there  is  no 
need  to  do  so,  as  they  are  well  known  to  every  reader  of 
the  Bible.  The  ground  may  be  taken  that  these  pre- 
dictions are  to  be  restricted  to  the  Romish  Church,  to 
which  they  do  certainly  refer  in  part,  and  that  there 
is  no  reason  to  include  the  Protestant  Church  in  their 
scope.  This  cannot  be  maintained,  since  it  is  an  his- 
torical fact,  as  well  as  one  of  present  observation,  that 
in  the  Protestant  Church  defections  have  occurred, 
false  doctrines  have  been  taught  and  unscriptural  prac- 
tices have  obtained. 

These  preliminary  statements  have  been  necessary  to 
clear  the  way  intelligently  for  the  particular  inquiry, 
What  are  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  Protestant 
Church  which  forebode  the  approach  of  those  critical 
events  that  will  herald  the  Millennial  period  ?  The  sub- 
ject will  be  treated  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary 
distribution  into  doctrine,  government,  discipline,  and 
worship. 

I.  What  are  the  signs  in  the  sphere  of  Doctrine? 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  not  only  was  the 
Protestant  reformation  confined,  at  its  inception,  to 
certain  sections  of  Europe,  but  that  it  never  thoroughly 
pervaded  those  countries  in  which  it  originated,  and 
that  its  doctrinal  influence  has,  to  a  great  extent,  been 
suppressed  in  some  of  those  which  at  first  were  domi- 
nated by  it.  Protestantism  has,  since  the  reformation, 
suffered  considerable  territorial  losses  in  Europe.  Bo- 
hemia, the  Palatinate,  Hungary,  and  notably  France, 
passed  under  the  doctrinal  control  of  the  Romish 
Church  and  the  influence  of  infidelity.     True,  nominal 


122  Sermons 

Protestantism  gained  on  the  North  American  conti- 
nent, but  it  will  be  seen  before  we  get  through  that  that 
accession  to  its  numerical  strength  is  hardly  now  an 
occasion  for  boasting. 

Let  us  take  a  rapid  glance  at  those  countries  in 
which  the  Protestant  faith  was  established.  Begin  we 
with  Germany,  the  land  in  which  the  reformation  was 
started  by  the  immortal  Luther,  concurrently  with  its 
origination  in  Switzerland  by  the  heroic  efforts  of 
Zwingle.  Germany,  numerically  considered,  was  never 
wholly  reformed.  A  considerable  part  of  her  popula- 
tion adhered  to  Popery,  as  they  do  to  this  day.  That 
portion  of  it  which  is  Protestant  has  had  a  remarkable 
history.  The  school  of  rationalism,  which  was  really 
a  school  of  free-thinking,  supported  by  scholarship  and 
philosophy,  spread  with  great  rapidity,  infected  the 
church  and  threatened  to  subvert  the  foundations  of 
the  Protestant  religion.  The  school  of  that  name,  after 
a  bitter  struggle,  no  longer  exists,  but  its  principles 
live.  It  is  now  reported  that  the  great  universities  are 
returning  to  evangelical  principles.  But  what  does  that 
really  mean?  Let  the  current  writings  of  so-called 
evangelical  or  orthodox  scholars  and  theologians  an- 
swer. They  maintain  neither  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
early  Protestant  German  Church  nor  of  the  French, 
nor  of  the  Scotch,  nor  of  the  English  Puritans,  nor  of 
the  American,  so  far  as  it  reproduces  the  doctrines  of 
those  great  standard-bearers  of  the  faith.  Tried  by  the 
symbols  of  the  first  Protestant  Church,  they  are  found 
grievously  wanting.  The  virus  of  rationalism  has  never 
been  thoroughly  purged  out.  Take  the  great  commen- 
tary of  Lange.    "From  one,  estimate  all." 

Switzerland,  like  Germany,  was,  as  to  territory,  only 
half  reformed.     It  passed  through  a  season  of  great 


Girardeau  123 

doctrinal  declension  under  the  influence  of  rationalism 
and  socinianism.  Geneva,  where  the  genius  of  Calvin 
organized  the  reformation,  the  stronghold  and  radiat- 
ing centre  of  the  Protestant  faith,  was  honey-combed 
with  heterodoxy  when  in  this  century  Robert  Haldane, 
a  Scotchman,  by  his  zealous  instructions,  started  an 
evangelical  movement,  which  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Evangelical  Society  has  continued  to  the  present  time, 
but  with  the  limited  doctrinal  purity  of  a  body  which 
is  undenominational.  The  Venerable  Association  of 
Pastors,  first  established  by  Calvin,  is  rationalistic  in 
its  influence.  Such  men  as  Gaussen  and  Merle  D'Au- 
bigne  were  not  tolerated  by  them.  That  fact  speaks 
volumes  in  regard  to  the  orthodoxy  of  Switzerland. 

Holland,  which  was  well-nigh  entirely  reformed, 
Holland,  the  country  which,  with  an  outpouring  of 
blood  that  incarnadined  her  canals,  resisted  the  at- 
tempts of  the  Duke  of  Alva  to  subjugate  her  to  the 
Papal  yoke,  the  land  of  William  the  Silent,  of  Voetius 
van  Mastricht,  and  the  illustrious  Witsius, — what  of 
her?  According  to  the  testimony 'of  the  historian  of 
rationalism,  she  has  been  pervaded  by  that  poisonous 
system.  Like  the  sea  when  it  breaks  tlM:'ough  her  dikes 
and  inundates  her  harvest  fields,  rationalism  has  broken 
down  the  metes  and  bounds  of  her  old  orthodoxy  and 
swamped  her  churches  with  its  cold  and  desolating 
flood.  And  now  her  professedly  evangelical  theolo- 
gians, like  Van  Oosterzee,  are  by  no  means  fair  expo- 
nents of  a  pure  Protestant  faith. 

Of  France,  little  need  be  said.  Protestantism,  which 
once  flourished  in  her  bosom,  was,  by  the  butcheries  of 
Charles  IX,  and  the  protracted  dragonnades  of  Louis 
XIV  and  the  Guises,  almost  extirpated  from  her  soil. 
The  Protestants  who  now  exist  are  divided  in  doctrine. 


124  Sermons 

even  the  Reformed  Church  being  split  into  two  wings, 
one  of  which  is  rationalistic ;  while  the.  professedly  or- 
thodox party,  if  represented  by  Pressense,  cannot  be 
regarded  as  strictly  so.  The  nominal  Protestant  Church 
in  that  country  can  hardly  be  taken  into  account  ex- 
cept as  it  contains  a  remnant  that  waits  for  the  conso- 
lation of  Israel.  The  population  is  largely  made  up 
of  Romanists  and  skeptics. 

Cross  the  channel  and  take  a  brief  survey  of  Great 
Britain.  Had  England  heeded  her  great  reformers — 
Jew^el,  for  example — she  would  have  been  purged  of 
Popery,  but  it  is  well  known  that  she  was  verj^  inade- 
quately reformed.  For  some  time  the  type  of  the  Prot- 
estant faith  was  mainly  Calvinistic;  but  from  the  res- 
toration of  the  unprincipled  Charles  II,  when,  as 
Bishop  Burnet  intimates,  almost  the  whole  nation  got 
drunk,  the  Church  of  England  began  her  recession 
from  Calvinism  and  lapsed  into  Arminianism.  In 
Bishop  Butler's  time  religion  was,  as  he  tells  us,  stu- 
diously banished  from  society,  so  that  it  was  a  breach 
of  good  manners  to 'allude  to  it  in  polite  circles.  Deism 
reigned.  Then  came  what  is  called  the  Great  Revival 
under  Wesley  and  Whitefield,  which,  no  doubt,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  wrought  a  restoration  of  experi- 
mental religion,  especially  in  the  middle  and  low^er 
classes.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  through 
the  same  movement  was  originated  a  powerful  organ- 
ization W'hich  has  vastly  increased  the  propagation  of 
the  Arminian  system  of  doctrines  in  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica. To  the  extent  to  which  that  system  involves  a 
departure  from  the  pure  doctrines  of  Scripture,  as  they 
were  formulated  in  the  early  Protestant  creeds,  a  large 
section  of  Protestant  Christendom  now  participates  in 
that  defection.    It  deserves  notice  that  the  latest  type 


Girardeau  125 

of  Arminian  doctrine,  as  may  easily  be  proved  by  cita- 
tions from  leading  theologians,  has  gone  down  far  be- 
low that  of  Wesley,  both  in  England  and  America.  A 
somewhat  recent  convocation  in  England  denied  the 
verbal  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  was  almost 
destroyed  by  defection  into  Unitarianism.  As  now  re- 
suscitated, whatever  may  be  its  doctrinal  posture,  it  is 
numerically  too  small  to  affect  our  general  estimate  of 
the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  sphere  of  doctrine.  The 
attitude  of  Congregationalism  in  England  may  be 
gauged  from  the  fun  made  of  the  orthodox  sermon  of 
Dr.  Goodwin,  of  Chicago,  not  long  since  preached  by 
him  before  a  Congregationalist  convention  in  London, 
by  the  most  prominent  minister  of  that  denomination 
in  that  city.  Charles  Spurgeon— and  I  cannot  mention 
his  name  without  groaning  out  a  lamentation  that  that 
great  evangelical  light,  that  brilliant  star  in  Jesus' 
right  hand,  has  ceased  to  shine  in  the  centre  of  civiliza- 
tion— Spurgeon  withdrew  from  the  English  Baptist 
Union  because  of  his  conviction  of  its  latitudinarianism 
in  doctrine — what  he  expressively  termed  its  "down- 
grade" tendency. 

In  Wales  the  doctrinal  attitude  of  other  denomina- 
tions being  left  out  of  account,  that  of  the  Calvinistic 
denomination  may  be  measured  by  the  late  call  to  the 
theological  school  of  a  rationalistic  professor  from  a 
Presbyterian  Seminary  in  this  country. 

Scotland,  notwithstanding  her  persecutions  in  the 
past  for  maintaining  the  pure  religion,  and  notwith- 
standing her  bitter  experience  of  the  evils  of  moderat- 
ism,  is  exhibiting  evidences  of  a  relaxing  hold  upon 
her  glorious  standards.  Very  loose  speculations  are 
winked  at  in  the  Established  Church,  and  the  General 


126  Sermons 

Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  not  long  since  white- 
washed those  teachers  of  false  doctrine,  Dr.  Dods,  of 
Edinburgh,  and  Dr.  Bruce,  of  Glasgow,  in  spite  of 
their  impeachment  by  the  faithful  Presbytery  of  Ding- 
wald,  sending  the  Highlanders  back  in  disappointment 
to  their  northern  glens;  and  while  these  witnesses  for 
the  truth  are  discountenanced,  Henry  Drummond  is 
tolerated  in  his  heretical  vagaries.  Are  these  not  omi- 
nous signs  in  old  Scotia's  sky? 

Of  the  doctrinal  condition  of  Protestant  Ireland,  in 
the  general,  I  am  not  prepared  to  speak  advisedly. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  countr}^  some  time 
ago  came  nigh  being  overwhelmed  by  an  eruption  of 
Socinianism  under  the  lead  of  the  insinuating  Mont- 
gomery, from  which  peril  she  was,  with  God's  blessing, 
saved  by  the  noble  stand  for  truth  made  by  the  heroic 
Henry  Cook.  She  has  for  years  been  passing  through 
a  great  conflict  upon  the  field  of  worship,  but,  under 
the  wholesome  guidance  of  such  theologians  as  Robert 
Watts,  of  Belfast,  and  his  compeers,  she  seems  to  be 
still  holding  her  gi-ound  of  conformity  with  the  stand- 
ard of  Scripture  truth  as  erected  in  her  venerable  doc- 
trinal confession. 

Let  us  now  come  nearer  home  in  our  review.  In 
America  the  Protestant  Church,  in  its  purest  form, 
had  its  origin  in  New  England.  President  Edwards 
preached  his  celebrated  sermons  on  the  "Work  of  Re- 
demption" in  1739,  about  a  century  and  a  half  ago. 
He  then  used  these  words:  "Another  thing  in  which 
things  are  altered  for  the  worse  from  what  was  in  the 
former  times  of  the  reformation,  is  the  prevailing  of 
licentiousness  in  principles  and  opinions.  There  is  not 
now  that  spirit  of  orthodoxy  which  there  was  then; 
there  is  very  little  appearance  of  zeal  for  the  myste- 


Girardeau  127 

rious  and  spiritual  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  and  they 
never  were  so  ridiculed  and  had  in  contempt  as  they 
are  in  the  present  age."  After  speaking  of  the  preva- 
lence of  "'Socinianism,  Arminianism,  and  Deism,"  he 
goes  on  to  say :  "Now  there  is  an  exceeding  great  decay 
of  vital  piety;  yea,  it  seems  to  be  despised,  called 
e7ithi(sias7n,  whimsy  and  fanaticism.  Those  who  are 
truly  religious  are  commonly  looked  upon  to  be  crack- 
brained,  and  beside  their  right  mind;  and  vice  and 
profaneness  dreadfully  prevail,  like  a  flood  which 
threatens  to  bear  down  all  before  it."  Since  Edwards's 
time,  Unitarianism  has  been  organized  in  a  denomina- 
tional form  and  has  been  enthroned  in  the  Athens  of 
America  and  at  Harvard  University.  The  Arminian- 
ism w^hich  Edwards  deprecated  has  more  and  more 
gained  foothold  in  New  England;  Universalism  has 
taken  organized  and  aggressive  shape,  and  future  pro- 
bationism  and  rationalistic  views  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures  have  established  a  centre  of  distribution 
at  that  great  school  of  Congregationalism,  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  founded,  chartered,  and  en- 
dowed for  the  inculcation  of  orthodox  views. 

In  other  parts  of  the  country  Protestantism,  with 
alternate  revivals  and  declensions,  has  almost  univer- 
sally diffused  itself.  But  it  has  broken  asunder  into 
numerous  fragments,  into  sects,  denominations,  and 
subdivisions  of  denominations.  And  let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  as  all  these  differing  bodies  cannot  possibly 
be  equally  orthodox,  orthodoxy  has  necessarily  suffered 
in  proportion  to  their  multiplication.  Arminian  doc- 
trines, not  restricted  to  any  one  denomination,  but  more 
or  less  existing  in  all,  have  spread  from  sea  to  sea. 
High  church  exclusivism,  not  confined  to  one  sectarian 
organization,  has  steadily  advanced.     The  pulpit,  that 


128  Sermons 

great  mouthpiece  of  divine  truth,  is  more  and  more 
su^Dpressing  its  testimony  to  the  future  punishment  of 
sin — the  eternal  sanction  of  God's  moral  government. 
The  verbal  inspiration  of  the  Bible  is  generally  denied, 
and  that  gone,  the  great  bulwark  of  Protestantism  is 
down.  A  common  outcry  is  raised  against  doctrinal 
preaching — a  sure  presage  of  growing  defection  and 
coming  wrath.  A  clamor  like  the  noise  of  many  waters 
is  lifted  up  against  the  enslaving  tyranny  of  creeds  and 
confessions,  which  means,  Down  with  God's  authority, 
and  Up  with  man's !  In  short,  the  demand  is  made 
that  the  glory  of  God — His  own  last  end  and  the  end 
of  the  whole  creation — must  give  way  to  the  happiness 
of  the  sinner,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  free,  untram- 
melled human  will  must  take  precedence  of  the  will  of 
Him  who  shakes  the  universe  with  His  nod. 

The  Presbyterian  Church,  which  has  usually  been 
regarded  as  the  chief  conservator  of  the  orthodox  faith, 
is  beginning  to  yield  to  the  paralyzing  influence  of  the 
fell,  rationalistic  spirit,  and  to  bow  to  the  dictates  of 
science,  falsely  so-called,  the  higher  criticism,  the 
sophistries  of  and  the  shout  for  the  universal  Father- 
hood of  God  and  universal  love.  Witness  the  extra- 
ordinary developments  in  the  Briggs  case.  Will  she 
give  way  ?  If  she  does,  the  j^halanx  with  locked  shields 
that  moved  with  resistless  force  against  the  hosts  of 
error  is  disintegrated,  scattered,  defeated. 

Such  are  some  of  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  doc- 
trinal sphere  of  the  church,  portending  the  night  be- 
fore the  Millennial  day.  There  are  some,  as  in  the  day 
of  Israel's  great  reformer,  who  are  faithful  among  the 
faithless  found;  their  loyalty  they  keep,  their  love, 
their  zeal.    Few  they  are,  but  they  are  the  seed  corn  of 


Girardeau  129 

the  Millennial  harvest,  the  prophets  and  forerunners  of 
the  Millennial  morn. 

II.  Wliat  are  the  signs  in  the  sphere  of  Government  ? 
The  doctrinal  aspect  of  the  question  has  been  dwelt 
upon  at  length  because  doctrine  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  everything  pertaining  to  the  church.  It  is  a  doc- 
trine that  whatsoever  Christ  commands  is  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  church;  whatsoever  He  has  not  com- 
manded, either  expressly  or  impliedly,  is  forbidden  to 
her;  and  that  is  the  doctrinal  cornerstone  of  the  true 
church.  What  remains  to  be  said  must  be  compressed 
into  small  compass. 

What  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  government  in 
comparison  with  which  the  church's  purity  or  corrup- 
tion, in  that  sphere,  is  to  be  determined?  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  answering.  The  Kepresentative  Principle. 
That  is  a  principle,  it  deserves  to  be  noticed,  of  very 
wide  employment  in  the  moral  government  of  God.  It 
runs  through  the  whole  of  it,  in  all  its  aspects.  It  was 
employed  in  man's  first  religion.  Adam  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  race.    It  is  employed  in  redemption. 

Christ  is  the  representative  of  the  redeemed.  It 
pleased  God  to  employ  this  principle  of  representation, 
with  necessary  adaptations,  in  the  constitution  of  the 
visible  church.  The  view  is  maintained  by  some  that 
the  church  is  simply  a  monarchy,  for  Christ  is  her 
King  and  He,  of  course,  is  not  elective.  The  true  view 
is  that  on  the  divine  side  the  church  is  a  kingdom  with 
Christ  as  her  sole  and  absolute  King,  but,  on  the  human 
side,  she  is  a  free,  representative  commonwealth.  Her 
divinely  given  constitution  creates  her  a  body  of  free 
electors,  empowered  by  its  suffrages  to  choose  its  rulers. 
They  are,  therefore,  representative  rulers.  When 
elected  they  constitute  a  parliament,  characterized  by 


130  "  Sermons 

the  absolute  parity  of  its  members,  with  no  visible  dic- 
tatorial head.  The  church  thus,  on  the  plane  of  a  hu- 
man society,  reflects  that  great  representative  principle 
which  has  been  incorporated  in  all  religion.  This  is 
the  touchstone  of  the  church's  purity  in  government. 
It  excludes  a  one-man's  government  and  consequently 
rules  out  prelacy  in  all  its  forms.  The  extent  to  which 
the  Protestant  Church  departs  from  this  principle  is 
the  extent  to  which  it  fails  to  be  conformed  to  the 
Scriptures;  nor  ought  it  to  be  forgotten  that  it  was 
just  here  that  the  early  church  commenced  its  career  of 
corruption  which  terminated  in  the  Papacy.  The  sim- 
ple Presbyter  became  the  Prelate,  and  the  Prelate  be- 
came a  Pope. 

But,  moreover,  even  where,  as  in  the  Presbyterian, 
Church,  this  representative  principle  is  professedly  em- 
ployed, it  is,  to  a  very  large  extent,  perverted  by  the 
suppression  of  the  parity  of  the  rulers  and  the  sub- 
ordination of  one  class  to  another  class.  What  is  called 
the  lay  element  is  held  to  be  inferior  to  what  is  termed 
the  clerical.  The  distinction  has  no  place  in  Scripture. 
It  is  a  corrupt  device  of  man.  Jesus  Christ  created  by 
His  will  the  government  of  His  church,  and  any  de- 
parture from  that  will  is  an  affirmation  of  man's  will 
in  disobedience  to  it,  and  is  an  ominous  sign  in  the 
church's  sky. 

III.  What  are  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  sphere  of 
Discipline  ?  "Discipline  is  the  exercise  of  that  author- 
ity and  the  application  of  that  system  of  laws  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  appointed  in  His  church." 
The  ends  which  the  church  aims  at  in  the  administra- 
tion of  discipline  are  the  glory  of  God,  the  honor  of 
Christ,  the  purity  and  edification  of  the  church,  and 
the  spiritual  good  of  offenders  themselves.    In  dispens- 


Girardeau  131 

ing  it,  as  the  name  implies,  she  acts  not  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  retributive  justice.  She  is  not  a  judge  emit- 
ting punitive  sentences.  She  never  punishes.  Reflect- 
ing the  fatherly  justice  of  God  and  the  pastoral  rule 
of  Jesus,  the  good  Shepherd,  over  the  sheep  of  His 
fold,  she,  like  a  tender  mother,  corrects  her  children 
in  order  to  reclaim  and  save  them.  As  to  the  discharge 
of  the  duty  of  discipline,  she  is  bound  by  obedience  to 
God,  obligation  to  her  Saviour,  and  love  for  the  souls 
committed  to  her  care,  it  is  evident  that  neglect  of  its 
performance  argues  a  defection  from  conformity  with 
the  Scriptures  and  consequently  from  true  religion. 

To  one  who  discerns  the  signs  of  the  times,  it  is  pain- 
fully apparent  that  there  is  a  growing  relaxation  of  the 
administration  of  discipline  in  the  Protestant  Church, 
and  a  corresponding  depression  in  the  tone  of  her  spir- 
itual life.  Of  this,  two  kinds  of  proofs  will  be  briefly 
submitted. 

The  first  is  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  censures  of 
the  world  precede  and  condition  the  censures  of  the 
church.  AVhere  the  world  condemns,  the  church  con- 
demns. Her  sentences  are  sustained,  perhaps  de- 
manded, by  the  verdict  of  society.  For  the  most  part — 
for  there  are  exceptions — the  church  seems  to  be  more 
careful  to  prevent  her  disgrace  than  to  maintain  the 
honor  of  Christ,  more  solicitous  to  keep  her  members 
than  the  favor  of  her  Lord. 

The  second  is  that  not  only  does  the  church  condition 
judicial  discipline  upon  the  censures  of  the  world,  but 
she  tolerates  where  the  world  tolerates.  One  or  two 
specifications  in  support  of  this  remark  must  suffice. 

In  the  first  place,  greater  and  greater  license  is  al- 
lowed by  the  Protestant  Church  to  the  infraction  of 
the  Sabbath  law.     Her  members  are,  on  God's  day. 


132  Sermons 

indulged  in  tlie  visitation  of  their  places  of  business, 
riding  out  for  pleasure,  boating  excursions,  prome- 
nades in  parks,  traveling  on  railways,  going  for  their 
mail,  reading  secular  newspapers,  social  visiting,  en- 
gaging in  business  pursuits  in  connection  with  rail- 
roads, telegraph  lines,  express  companies,  and  post- 
offices, — on  the  plea  of  making  a  livelihood,  notwith- 
standing the  words  of  a  crucified  Saviour :  "Every  one 
that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or 
father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands  for 
My  name's  sake,  shall  receive  an  hundredfold,  and 
shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 

In  the  second  place,  the  Protestant  Church  is  more 
and  more  conniving  at  participation  by  her  members 
in  the  open,  public,  justified  amusements  of  the  world 
which  in  her  purer  days  she  forbade,  such  as  attend- 
ance at  theatres  and  at  balls,  dancing  parties,  and  other 
vain  diversions.  True,  she  testifies  against  it  from  the 
pulpit ;  but  when  discipline  might  arrest  it,  she  refuses 
to  discipline.  "Be  not  conformed  to  this  world."  says 
the  Holy  Apostle.  "Be  not  conformed  to  this  world." 
echoes  the  church.  But  when  her  members  conform  to 
the  world  that  is  the  end  of  it.  She  condemns  by  her 
words  what  she  sanctions  by  her  acts.  The  acts  pre- 
vail. The  bars  of  discipline  are  let  down.  The  sheep 
go  out  at  that  gate  to  the  world,  and  at  that  gate  the 
world  comes  into  the  church.  This  evil  is  increasing, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  signs  of  the  times. 

IV.  What  are  the  signs  of  the  times  in  the  sphere  of 
Worship?  I  confess  that  upon  this  subject  I  scarcely 
dare  trust  myself  to  speak.  The  movement  of  our  times 
strikes  me  with  astonishment.  There  was  nothing  in 
the  past  about  which  God  was  so  jealous  as  the  mode 
of  His  worship.    There  was  nothing  around  which  He 


Girardeau  133 

threw  guards  and  fences  so  awful  as  around  His  w^or- 
ship.  His  wrath  leaped  forth  as  a  vehement  flame 
against  those  who  asserted  their  wills  in  His  worship. 
He  reserved  to  Himself  the  high  prerogative  of  ap- 
pointing the  ways  in  which  men  should  approach  Him 
in  His  public  worship,  and  instantly  resented  every 
invasion  of  that  prerogative.  But  all  that  is  now 
changed,  we  are  told.  We  have  passed  under  the  milder 
sanctions  of  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  and  more 
discretionary  power  is  granted  to  the  church.  Hold ! 
Did  not  Christ  enjoin  it  upon  His  apostles  to  teach  the 
church  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  He  had  com- 
manded? And  does  not  that  necessarily  imply  that 
they  were  to  teach  the  church  to  abstain  from  all  things 
whatsoever  He  had  not  commanded?  to  do  nothing 
which  He  had  not  commanded?  Did  not  the  apostles 
organize  the  church  according  to  His  will?  Did  they 
not  appoint  her  whole  order,  including  her  public  wor- 
ship? And  are  we  not  bound  by  Christ's  will  thus 
expressed?  Did  the  apostolic  church  know  anything 
of  instrumental  mvisic  in  public  worship,  of  liturgies, 
of  the  decorations  of  church  edifices?  How  come  we  to 
know  them  except  by  breaking  with  the  apostolic  order 
and  the  will  of  our  King? 

Hearken,  men  and  brethren !  Let  us  take  just  one 
of  these  elements  of  innovation  upon  the  primitive 
order  of  worship  and  rapidly  trace  its  history.  For 
1,200  years  the  Christian  church  knew  nothing  of  in- 
strumental music  in  her  public  worship.  In  the  thir- 
teenth century  its  proposed  introduction  into  the 
Church  of  Rome — corrupt  as  it  then  was — was  ineffect- 
ually resisted  by  some  of  her  most  eminent  theologians. 
At  the  reformation  the  Swiss  Protestant  Church  cast 
it  out;  the  French  Protestant  Church  cast  it  out;  the 


134  Sermons 

Dutch  Church  cast  it  out;  the  Scotch  Church  cast  it 
out;  the  English  Puritans  cast  it  out;  and  the  Church 
of  Enghmd  came  very  nigh  casting  it  out.  At  its  first 
phmting,  the  American  Evangelical  Church  refused  to 
adopt  it.  What  do  we  now  behold  ?  Its  use  by  nearly 
all  tlie  leading  churches  of  Protestantism,  in  opposition 
to  the  Scriptures  and  the  venerable  precedents  which 
have  just  been  recited.  What  a  change !  What  a  blaz- 
ing sign  in  the  sky  of  the  Protestant  Church !  "What 
is  to  stop  the  tendency?  The  beginning  is  the  mother 
of  the  end.    AVhat  end?    The  full  orchestra  of  Rome. 

So  with  the  liturgy.  Not  commanded  by  the  apos- 
tles, the  Evangelical  Protestant  Church  has  long  dis- 
carded it.  What  now?  It  is  beginning  stealthily  to 
creep  in  under  the  guise  of  a  permissive  liturgy.  If 
adopted  it  will  acquire  the  force  of  prescription;  and 
what  then?  A\Tiy,  the  Holy  Ghost  will  vacate  His 
office,  and  give  way  to  Archbishop  Cranmer  and  the 
committees  of  evangelical  churches,  who  will  teach  us 
''what  things  to  pray  for  as  we  ought,  and  make  inter- 
cessions for  us  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered  !" 

So  also  with  the  ornamenting  and  decoration  of 
church  buildings;  something  new  to  evangelical  Prot- 
estantism. Did  you,  whose  heads  are  just  beginning 
to  be  sprinkled  with  grey,  know  anything  of  it  when 
your  mothers  led  you  by  the  hand  to  the  simple  wor- 
ship of  their  God  ?  At  first,  as  if  conscious  that  it  was 
an  intruder,  it  came  with  a  modest  bouquet ;  then  with 
many  of  them ;  then,  behold !  banks  of  flowers  and 
plants  cover  pulpit  and  platform,  and  festoons  and 
branches  bedeck  the  walls.  The  first  step  was  taken 
unchallenged,  then  the  second;  why  not  the  third,  and 
on,  on,  to  the  paintings,  the  statues,  and  all  the  gor- 
geous paraphernalia  of  Rome? 


Girardeau  135 

But  I  must  close.  Signs  have  been  pointed  out  in 
the  spheres  of  doctrine,  government,  discipline,  and 
worship,  which  indicate  the  progress  of  a  great  defec- 
tion in  the  Protestant  Church,  and  the  approach  of 
those  tempestuous  changes  which  will  herald  the  rising 
of  the  Millennial  star.  I  am  getting  to  be  more  and 
more  "lonesome;"  my  voice  is  very  feeble  and  cannot 
be  heard  far  against  the  storm;  but  humbly  standing 
in  my  narrow,  provincial  lot,  I  lift  up  a  warning 
against  the  growing  defection,  and  call  attention  to  the 
dark  cloud  of  judgments  that  is  flashing  with  lightning 
and  growling  with  wrath.  I  have  said  that  the  tem- 
poral power  of  the  Pope  is  broken,  but  that  there  may 
be  a  tremendous  effort  made  to  restore  it.  There  are 
reported  to  be  200,000,000  of  adherents  to  the  Papacy. 
How  will  a  degenerate  Protestantism  meet  its  massed 
onset?  Say,  shall  we  throw  over  the  generous  pail  of 
gospel  milk  filled  at  the  reformation,  and  return  to 
suck  the  dugs  of  the  woman  drunk  with  Protestant 
blood? 

O  thou  remnant,  weak  and  small,  faithful  to  Jesus, 
His  truth  and  His  cause,  what  will  become  of  thee? 
Trust  in  that  covenant  love  which  has  never  forsaken 
God's  true  people  in  the  past,  and  will  not  forsake 
them  in  the  future.  Almighty  arms  are  around  thee, 
and  will  keep  thee  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith 
unto  salvation. 


136  Sermons 


FAMILY  RELIGION 

Col.  iii.  18-21:  ^^  Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your 
own  husbands,  as  it  is  -fit  in  the  Lord.  Husbands,  love 
your  wives,  and  be  not  bitter  against  them.  Children, 
obey  your  parents  in  all  things,  for  this  is  well  pleasing 
unto  the  Lord.  Fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to 
anger  lest  they  be  discouraged.'^'' 

Eph.  vi.  4:  "l^e  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children 
to  wrath,  but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admo- 
nition of  the  Lord?'' 

Acts  ii.  39 :  '"''For  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your 
children?'' 

Jer.  X.  25 :  '"''Pour  out  thy  fury  upon  the  heathen  that 
know  thee  not,  and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  on 
thy  name.'''' 

The  subject  assigned  for  treatment  on  this  occasion 
is  Family  Heligion.  In  considering  it  I  shall,  first  and 
by  way  of  introduction,  briefly  contemplate  the  family 
in  its  relations,  of  difference  and  similarity,  to  other 
social  organisms,  and,  secondly,  more  fully  set  forth 
its  special  and  practical  aspects  as  a  separate  religious 
institute. 

I.  There  are,  in  the  present  order  of  things,  three 
gre'at  social  institutes,  the  Family,  the  State,  and  the 
Church ;  in  the  present  order  of  things,  for  in  a  differ- 
ent  conceivable    constitution    of   human    affairs,    into 


Note. — This  is  really  a  discussion.  The  Charleston  Presbytery, 
realizing  the  decline  of  family  religion,  and  desiring  to  check  the 
falling  away  in  our  Christian  homes,  appointed  Dr.  Girai'deau  to 
preach  a  sermon  on  the  subject.  As  a  result  of  this  appointment  the 
following  carefully  prepared  sermon  was  preached  in  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Charleston,  at  the  Spring  meeting  of  the  Presbytery 
in  1885. 


Girardeau  137 

which  sin  would  not  have  entered  as  a  factor,  it  may 
at  least  be  doubted  whether  the  same  sharp  and  un- 
avoidable distinctions  would  have  obtained  as  now  exist 
between  the  state  and  the  church.  Had  the  human 
race,  as  represented  in  its  first  progenitor  and  subjected 
to  its  probation  in  him,  stood  in  innocence  during  the 
specified  time  of  trial  and  been  confirmed  in  holiness 
and  happiness,  its  families,  as  they  would  have  been 
multiplied,  would  probably  have  naturally  passed  into 
the  condition  of  one  great  social  organism.  This  might 
not  have  been  a  mere  aggregate  of  families  as  units, 
but  assumed  the  form  of  an  organized  institute  of  gov- 
ernment. But  it  may  be  a  question  whether  it  would 
have  been  either  logically  or  really  divisible  into  the 
state  and  the  church.  The  necessity  for  civil  and 
political  government  arising  out  of  the  conflict  of  indi- 
vidual interests  would  not  have  existed,  for  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  supposition,  there  would  have  been  no  sin, 
there  could  have  been  no  conflict  to  be  prevented  or 
adjusted.  It  might  have  been  requisite  to  affix  to  indi- 
vidual and  municipal  interests  certain  metes  and 
bounds,  but  the  great  principles  of  truth,  justice,  and 
benevolence  would  have  joervaded  and  regulated  society 
and,  as  a  consequence,  these  limitations  would  have 
been  spontaneously  respected,  and  no  clash  of  contend- 
ing claims  could  have  emerged.  It  is  certain  that  the 
penal  element  of  retributive  government  would  have 
been  entirely  absent ;  the  sword  never  could  have  been 
as  now  the  symbol  and  badge  of  rule,  for  there  could 
have  been  no  violation  of  law,  and,  therefore,  no  room 
for  punishment.    Crime  would  have  been  unknown. 

These  suppositions  are  rendered  the  more  likely  by 
what  we  know  from  revelation  of  heaven.  It  is  the 
city  of  God,  a  polity  of  the  redeemed,  in  which  the 


138  Sermons 

distinctions  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  of  disciplinary 
and  retributive  government  are  impossible.  There 
God's  state  is  his  church,  his  church  his  state.  We  may 
fairly  infer  that  as  without  sin  the  world  would  have 
been  like  heaven,  the  distinctions  would  have  been 
wanting  which  at  present  actually  obtain.  Now,  re- 
demption proceeds  upon  the  pre-supposition  of  sin.  It 
recognizes  the  disjunction  between  the  two  institutes 
effected  by  man's  rebellion;  but  at  the  same  time  it 
proposes  for  its  ultimate  end  to  heal  the  unnatural 
schism,  so  far  as  God's  redeemed  subjects  are  con- 
cerned, and  restore  our  fallen  and  disrupted  nature  to 
its  original  and  normal  idea;  and,  moreover,  to  confer 
upon  it  the  peculiar  benefits  resulting  from  its  union 
with  Christ  the  eternal  and  archetypal  Son,  and  so  to 
confirm  it  in  a  closer  and  tenderer  union  with  God 
Himself.  The  church,  as  composed  of  God's  children, 
is  destined  to  be  one  perfect,  undivided  family. 

But  taking  human  society  as  it  is,  as  conditioned 
and  modified  by  sin,  we  find  it  existing  in  three  organic 
institutes  which  are  distinct  from  each  other.  The 
State  is  in  its  origin  natural,  and  although  it  is  capable 
of  being  influenced,  ought  to  be  influenced,  and  in  the 
Millennial  period  will  be  influenced  by  spiritual  sanc- 
tions, yet  it  is  designed  in  this  world  to  operate  in  the 
natural  sphere  and  to  be  conversant  with  the  political 
and  civil  relations  of  men.  The  family  is  also  in  its 
origin  natural,  is  susceptible  under  the  moulding  power 
of  grace  of  becoming  spiritual,  but  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  must  ever  in  this  world  move  in  the  natural 
sphere  and  be  concerned  about  natural  relations.  The 
church  is  in  its  origin  supernatural  and  spiritual, 
ought  in  its  character  to  be  spiritual,  and  is  designed 
to  operate  in  the  spiritual  sphere.    It  is  composed,  in- 


Girardeau  139 

deed,  so  far  as  it  is  a  visible  and  external  organization, 
of  men  in  the  flesh,  and,  therefore,  has  a  temporal  side 
and  temporal  functions,  but  even  in  these  respects  it  is 
controlled  by  spiritual  relations  and  spiritual  ends. 
The  rule  of  government  is  different  in  these  respective 
institutes.  That  of  the  State,  on  the  one  hand,  although 
it  may  incorporate  into  itself  elements  of  God's  moral 
law,  is  still  distinctively  a  political  constitution  and  a 
civil  and  criminal  code.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rule 
of  government  in  the  family  and  the  church  is  the 
divine  law  as  embodied  in  the  Scriptures.  The  rulers 
are  also  different.  In  the  State  the  ruler  is  the  magis- 
trate ;  in  the  family  and  the  church,  the  father.  They 
are,  in  fine,  different  kinds  of  government.  The  State 
is  mainly  an  instance  of  retributive  government,  pro- 
ceeding by  rewards  and  penalties ;  the  family  and  the 
church  are  specimens  of  disciplinary  government  op- 
erating by  rewards  and  chastisements.  In  the  one  case 
penal  justice  is  prominent;  in  the  other  it  is  excluded. 
The  family,  like  the  church,  is  a  disciplinary  and  not 
a  penal  institute. 

Having  glanced  at  some  of  the  most  important  dif- 
ferences between  these  organisms,  let  us  briefly  con- 
sider the  relation  in  which  the  family  stands  to  the 
state  and  the  church,  and  the  principles  which  origi- 
nating in  it  ought  to  pass  into  and  influence  them. 

These  institutes,  although  in  themselves  distinct,  are 
in  a  certain  sense  related.  They  all  have  a  common 
origin  in  the  will  of  God,  are  organs  through  which 
His  manifold  government  of  the  world  is  mediately 
administered,  are  accountable  to  Him  for  the  manner 
in  which  their  subordinate  rule  is  exercised,  and  are, 
in  the  discharge  of  their  legitimate  functions,  sup- 
ported by  the  sanction  of  His  authority.    One  common 


140  Sermons 

feature  characterizes  them  all — they  are  ordinances  of 
God.  Xo  association  of  personal  beings  in  the  universe 
has  a  right  to  be  godless.  In  a  future  and  more  per- 
fect condition  of  human  society  no  organization,  gov- 
ernmental or  merely  social,  secular  or  sacred,  will  deny 
its  relation  to  God  or  assume  to  act  independently  of 
religious  sanctions.  The  more  nearly  society  ap- 
proaches to  its  original  idea  and  its  destined  perfection, 
the  farther  will  it  recede  from  the  atheistic  claim  to 
be  irresponsible  to  God,  and  the  more  will  it  tend  to 
that  condition  in  which  He  will  be  confessed  to  be  all 
in  all,  a  condition  in  which  His  name  will  be  impressed 
upon  every  corj3oration,  company,  and  employment, 
when  holiness  to  the  Lord  shall  be  written  upon  the 
bells  of  the  horses.  A^Hien?  do  you  ask?  '\ATien  the 
star  of  the  Millennial  morn  shall  blaze  on  the  dark  and 
stormy  horizon  of  human  sin  and  strife.  Sin  has 
effected  the  monstrous  schism  betwixt  man  and  God, 
and  betwixt  men  and  men.  This  fearfid  cleavage  will 
be  closed  up,  but  closed  up  only  so  far  as  the  predesti- 
nating purpose  of  God  shall  operate  through  the  pro- 
visions of  redemption.  Neither  at  present  is  the  scheme 
of  optimism  nor  that  of  pessimism  practically  true. 
Heaven  will  realize  the  former,  hell  the  latter.  Human 
society  is  the  preparation  for  one  or  the  other,  accord- 
ingly as  it  is  or  is  not  governed  by  the  principles  of 
the  Bible.  The  acknowledgment  of  God  will  find  its 
consummation  in  heaven,  the  denial  of  Him  will  reach 
its  climax  in  hell.  But  whatever  may  be  the  actual 
facts  in  the  development  of  our  fallen  race,  the  idea  of 
human  society  was  that  it  should  conform  to  the  di- 
vine will,  and  express  the  principles  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment. All  men,  whether  regarded  individually  or 
collectively,  are,  by  the  conditions  of  their  being,  bound 


Girardeau  141 

to  acknowledge,  obey  and  glorify  God.  There  is  no 
logical  medium  betAveen  this  doctrine  and  Atheism. 
The  Family,  the  State,  and  the  Church  are  correlated 
institutes  in  God's  great  plan  of  government — a  plan 
by  which  He  pleases  ordinarily  to  administer  rule,  not 
innnediately,  but  through  the  medium  of  human  organ- 
isms, each  intended  to  promote  His  glory  and  man's 
good  in  its  own  prescribed  sphere,  and  all  contributing 
together  to  the  accomplishment  of  these  ends. 

It  is,  furthermore,  obvious  to  remark  that  of  these 
institutes,  the  family  is  fundamental,  radical,  germi- 
nal. It  is  the  primary  point  of  unity  to  the  others.  It 
is  the  origin  and  propagator  of  the  race,  and  it  is  the 
first  organism  from  which  the  others  started  and  re- 
ceived their  development.  Had  not  sin  occurred,  the 
terms  human  family  would  have  had  a  significance 
which  they  do  not  and  cannot  now  possess.  All  man- 
kind would  have  been  one  family,  not  only  as  having 
expanded  from  a  common  centre,  developed  from  a 
common  stock,  but  as  being  allied  by  feelings  the  most 
tender  and  affectionate.  They  would  have  spoken  the 
same  language,  obeyed  the  same  law  and  worshipped  at 
the  same  altar.  Society  would  have  been  a  perfect 
brotherhood.  "\A^ierever  one  human  being  would  have 
been  met  by  another  in  all  the  wide  world,  although 
personally  a  stranger,  he  would  have  experienced  the 
welcome  of  a  brother's  heart  and  the  embrace  of  a 
brother's  arms.  If  there  could  have  been  a  heaven 
without  Jesus,  the  earth  would  have  been  heaven.  At 
least,  it  would  have  been  a  universal  paradise. 

But,  conditioned  disa'-trously  by  sin  as  it  actually 
is,  the  human  race  is  not  a  heterogeneous  collection  of 
individual  units,  but  a  great  aggregation  of  families; 
and  through  whatever  of  conservative  influence  still 


142  Sermons 

results  from  the  laws  impressed  upon  the  family  rela- 
tion, that  relation  exercises  a  restraining  and  whole- 
some effect  upon  society.  Were  the  population  of  the 
earth  not  thus  composed  of  families,  it  would  be  a  wild 
and  ungovernable  mob  destitute  of  the  first  principles 
of  law  and  order,  of  religion  and  morals,  a  promiscuous 
herd  of  human  wild  beasts, — naj^,  worse,  for  beasts  of 
prey  are  not  wont  to  rend  their  own  species,  and  ani- 
mals are  controlled  infallibly  by  the  law  of  instinct 
beyond  which  they  cannot  pass.  But  when  human  be- 
ings transgress,  as  they  do,  the  laws  imposed  upon  their 
nature,  the  evil  multiplies  itself  until  the  genius  of 
license,  misrule,  and  disorder  riots  in  undisputed  and 
unlimited  swaj'',  and  sweeps  its  hapless  victims,  as  if 
possessed  of  demons,  onward  to  every  social  excess  and 
agitation,  communistic,  socialistic,  anarchistic,  nihil- 
istic— to  universal  revolution,  amidst  the  terrific  explo- 
sions of  which  all  legitimate,  time-honored  and  vener- 
able institutions  are  in  danger  of  being  whelmed  in  one 
common  and  fearful  ruin.  In  illustration  of  this,  one 
need  only  cite  the  recent  attempt  to  destroy  the  British 
parliament  house  and  the  tower  of  London. 

The  time  allotted  to  these  remarks  will  not  allow 
more  than  a  few  passing  words  upon  a  theme  tempting 
in  itself  and  meriting  serious  consideration.  I  allude 
to  the  principles  which,  imbedded  in  the  family  con- 
stitution, make  it  a  propaedeutic  for  every  form  of  the 
social  fabric;  principles  which  were  designed  to  be  of 
far-reaching  value,  to  diffuse  themselves  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  family,  and  to  be  incorporated  into  the 
State  an'i  the  church.  There  is  the  principle  of  obedi- 
ence to  law  and  to  divinely  appointed  authority,  of 
veneration  for  age,  wisdom  and  sanctity,  of  deference 
to  all  who  have  the  right  to  be  the  superiors  of  others. 


Girardeau  143 

The  family  is  precisely  the  school  in  which  this  funda- 
mental virtue  ought  to  be  fostered.  The  neglect  to 
cultivate  it  there  must  tell  injuriously  upon  the  other 
relations  of  life,  while  the  failure  of  the  State  and  the 
church  to  insist  upon  it  would  bode  nothing  but  evil  to 
the  future.  Without  it  government  would  be  impotent, 
except  as  enforced  by  the  bayonet  and  the  cannon. 
Society  would  perish  at  the  top. 

There  is  the  principle  of  scrupulous  respect  for  the 
refinement  and  purity  of  woman  which  finds  a  peculiar 
field  for  expression  in  the  family  circle,  in  the  relation 
of  the  child  to  his  mother,  of  the  brother  to  his  sister, 
of  the  husband  to  his  wife,  and  which  is  entitled  to  be 
regarded  as  the  palladium  of  social  life.  There  is  the 
princiiDle  of  the  headship  of  man,  which  divinely  or- 
dained to  operate  in  the  family  is  also  divinely  en- 
joined upon  the  church.  It  is  also  implied  that  woman 
was  not  intended  by  her  Maker  to  enter  as  a  public 
factor  into  political  contests  and  open  crusades  for  the 
melioration  of  moral  evils, — to  hurl  herself  into  the 
fierce  arena  of  gladiatorial  strife.  That  would  be  to 
impair  the  beautiful  quality  of  dependence  and  mod- 
esty which  is  the  talisman  of  her  power,  as  a  rough 
touch  of  the  hand  irreparably  brushes  off  the  down 
from  the  petal  of  the  flower.  Were  this  to  become  the 
general  custom — and  may  God  preserve  our  Southern 
land  from  such  an  inversion  of  her  traditions ! — the 
cry  of  the  ancient  pagan  persecutors  of  Christians 
would,  with  the  change  of  a  single  word,  be  transmuted 
into  the  scarcely  less  cruel  shout  of  modern  society : 
Women  to  the  lions !  Their  proper  influence  would  be 
gone.  But  were  general  success  to  attend  this  ill-starred 
effort  to  clothe  them  with  an  improper  influence,  the 
result  must  be  that  the  Graces  would  be  transformed 


144  Sermons 

into  the  Fates.  The  doom  of  society  would  be  sealed. 
It  is  of  vital  interest  to  the  State  and  the  church  that 
woman  should  exert  her  magical  influence  only  in  that 
sphere  which  God  has  assigned  her,  and  in  which  she 
may  wear  the  crown  and  wield  the  sceptre  of  a  queen. 

"'There  woman  reigns,  the  mother,  daughter,  wife ; 
Strews  with  fresh  flowers  the  narrow  way  of  life ; 
Around  her  knees  domestic  virtues  meet, 
And  fireside  pleasures  gambol  at  her  feet." 

There  is  also  the  principle  of  monogamy,  the  law  by 
which  marriage  is  legitimated  only  between  one  man 
and  one  woman,  an  ordinance  enforced  alike  by  God 
the  Creator  and  God  the  Redeemer.  Vital  as  its  ob- 
servance is  to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  family,  it 
is  of  no  less  importance  to  the  purity  of  the  church  and 
the  welfare  of  the  State.  It  is  a  matter  for  thanks- 
giving that  no  church  and  no  Christian  government 
theoretically  tolerates  the  evil  of  polygamy.  But  its 
existence  as  a  fact  among  the  American  people  is  a 
blot  upon  their  civilization.  It  is  at  once  a  fret  and  a 
shame  to  the  age.  There  is  further  the  principle  of 
the  perpetuity,  under  limitations,  of  the  marriage  bond. 
That  bond  is  designed  to  be,  and  ought  to  be,  perpet- 
ual ;  but  it  is  liable  to  dissolution  by  reason  of  sin. 
When  it  has  been  wickedly  disrupted,  the  question 
arises  in  regard  to  the  legitimacy  of  divorce.  There 
are  two  vicious  extremes  into  which  human  legislation 
actually  runs — the  one  of  legalizing  divorce  upon  in- 
sufficient grounds,  that  is,  grounds  not  warranted  by 
the  Divine  Lawgiver;  the  other,  of  permitting  it  upon 
no  grounds.  God,  in  His  word,  recognizes  one  and  but 
one  ground  of  divorce — the  dissolution  of  the  bond  of 


Girardeau  145 

marriage,  and  specifies  two  ways  in  which  that  may 
occur;  first,  infidelity  to  the  marriage  covenant;  and, 
secondly,  causeless,  wilful  and  irremediable  desertion. 
Those  States,  therefore,  which  grant  divorce  upon 
other  grounds  than  these  are  looser  than  the  divine  law, 
and  those  which  refuse  it  upon  these  grounds  are 
stricter  than  it.  In  either  case,  mischief  must  be  the 
result.  Would  that  legislators  had  the  grace  to  regard 
themselves  as  neither  wiser  nor  more  merciful  nor  more 
careful  of  morality  than  God  Himself  I 

II.  I  pass  on  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  special 
and  practical  aspects  of  the  family  as  a  separate  re- 
ligious organism. 

Let  us,  first,  contemplate  the  family  as  an  Institute 
of  Instruction. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  in  discussing  the 
question  of  the  natural  obligation  resting  upon  parents 
to  teach  their  children.  Whether  they  do  or  do  not 
address  themselves  formally  and  methodically  to  the 
discharge  of  this  parental  function  they  are,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  teachers,  and  teachers  exerting  a 
prodigious  influence  upon  their  children.  The  school 
is  one  of  nature's  construction,  and  not  a  product  of 
conventional  arrangement.  The  pupils  are  born  into 
it,  have  no  vacations,  and  never  leave  it  until  they 
arrive  at  an  age  when  they  are  prepared  to  become 
teachers  in  a  similar  school  with  similar  students.  The 
near  and  tender  relations  involved,  the  almost  god-like 
authority  of  the  parent,  the  assimilating  disposition  of 
the  child  causing  it  with  sponge-like  facility  to  absorb 
the  influence  of  teh  daily  words,  and  acts  and  life  of 
the  influence  of  the  daily  words,  and  acts  and  life  of 
the  father  and  mother, — all  these  considerations  show 
that  the  family  is  necessarily  a  potent  institute  of  in- 


146  Sermons 

struction.  This  is  obvious.  But  the  duty  resting  upon 
the  xoarent  in  a  stricter  and  more  formal  sense  to  teach 
his  children  will  also  be  generally  conceded.  As,  how- 
ever, in  consequence  of  our  weakness  and  imperfection 
we  are  liable  to  the  neglect  of  even  admitted  duties,  let 
us  look  at  some  of  the  reasons  which  bind  us  to  the  con- 
scientious performance  of  this  obligation. 

The  Scriptures  are  not  silent  in  regard  to  this 
primal  duty  of  religion.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  first  family  which  existed  on  earth  was  a  school  of 
religious  indoctrination.  The  narrative  in  Genesis 
confirms  the  antecedent  probabilities  in  the  case.  The 
pious  Abel  conformed  his  practice  to  the  evangelical 
instructions  of  his  parents  when  he  offered  in  his  wor- 
ship an  animal  as  significant  of  his  faith  in  the  Lamb 
of  God,  who  should,  in  accordance  with  the  purpose  of 
redemption,  render  himself  a  proj)itiatory  sacrifice  for 
sin;  and  his  Avicked  brother  sinned  against  the  gospel 
delivered  to  him  bj'  the  same  instructions,  when  he 
furnished  the  first  and  leading  instance  of  will-worship 
in  his  infidel  presentation  of  a  bloodless  offering. 
Through  the  Patriarchal  dispensation  believing  par- 
ents handed  down  to  their  children,  generation  by  gen- 
eration, the  first  glorious  promise  of  redemption;  and 
even  when  the  professed  people  of  God  had  lapsed  into 
an  almost  universal  apostasy  from  the  truth,  there 
remained  one  family  in  which  the  torch  was  still  kept 
burning  that  was  kindled  at  the  altar  of  Adam  and 
Eve.  The  same  sacred  light  shed  its  rays  in  the  ark 
when  shut  in  by  God's  hand,  and  when  borne  upward 
by  the  swelling  waters  of  a  mighty  deluge,  with  the 
corpses  of  a  drowned  world  floating  around  it  and 
heaved  up  against  its  sides.  That  family  school,  thus 
miraculously  preserved,  became  the  distributing  centre 


Girardeau  147 

of  gospel  truth  to  a  new  world,  alas,  so  soon  by  the  force 
of  corruption  to  repeat  the  crime  of  its  predecessor,  and 
in  the  face  of  its  doom  to  plunge  into  an  idolatrous 
apostasy  from  God !  Yet  here  and  there  in  that  desert 
of  defection  the  truth  of  the  gospel  maintained  its 
supremacy  in  some  family  seminary.  The  venerable 
patriarch  of  Uz  taught  his  children  the  scheme  of  sal- 
vation in  which  all  his  personal  hopes  were  grounded. 
Abraham,  when  called  of  God  to  be  the  founder  of  the 
church  under  new  sanctions,  became  an  exemplar  of 
fidelity  in  the  duty  of  parental  instruction.  By  express 
and  solemn  statute,  the  Mosaic  code  constituted  every 
family  in  Israel  a  school  of  religious  training.  "Only 
take  heed  to  thyself  and  keep  thy  soul  diligently  lest 
thou  forget  the  things  which  thine  eyes  have  seen,  and 
lest  they  depart  from  thy  heart  all  the  days  of  thy  life: 
but  teach  them,  thy  sons  and  thy  sons'  sons."  "And 
these  words,  w^hich  I  command  thee  this  day,  shall  be 
in  thine  heart:  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently 
unto  thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou 
sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the 
way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest 
up."  The  illustrious  captain  who  led  the  host  of  Israel 
across  Jordan  into  the  promised  land,  said  in  his  last, 
affecting  address  to  his  countrymen :  "Choose  you  this 
day  whom  we  will  serve.  .  .  .  As  for  me  and  my  house, 
we  will  serve  the  Lord." 

The  royal  Psalmist  declared  that  he  would  "walk 
within  his  house  with  a  perfect  heart,"  implying  that 
he  would  in  his  family  both  inculcate  by  precept  and 
exemplify  in  his  conduct  the  principles  of  the  religion 
he  professed.  His  son,  the  wisest  of  men,  who  well 
knew,  from  his  own  experience,  the  benefits  of  family 
tuition  and  the  disastrous  effects  of  its  neglect,  fur- 


l-tS  Sermons 

nishes  the  salutary  admonition :  "Train  up  a  child  in 
the  way  he  should  go,"  and  appends  the  promise  that 
"when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it;"  intimating 
that  the  habits  engendered  in  the  young  b}^  faithful 
parental  instruction  may  ordinarily  be  expected  to  bear 
corresponding  fruits  in  maturer  life.  The  same  great 
man,  speaking  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  also  charmingly 
counsels  the  young:  "My  son,  keep  thy  father's  com- 
mandment, and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother: 
bind  them  continually  upon  thine  heart,  and  tie  them 
about  thy  neck.  AATien  thou  goest  it  shall  lead  thee; 
when  thou  sleepest  it  shall  keep  thee;  and  when  thou 
awakest  it  shall  talk  with  thee.  For  the  command- 
ment is  a  lamp;  and  the  law  is  light;  and  reproofs  of 
instruction  are  the  way  of  life."  The  evangelic  pro- 
phet records  "the  writing  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah, 
when  he  had  been  sick,  and  was  recovered  of  his  sick- 
ness," in  which  the  restored  monarch  srjs:  "The  liv- 
ing, the  living,  he  shall  praise  thee,  as  I  do  this  day; 
the  father  to  the  children  shall  make  loiown  thy  truth," 
as  though  he  esteemed  it  one  of  the  chief  offices  for 
which  his  life  was  prolonged  to  impress  upon  his  chil- 
dren the  ways  of  the  Lord.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that 
the  last  of  the  prophets,  in  the  very  closing  words  of 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  emphasizes  the  discharge 
or  neglect  of  parental  and  filial  obligations  and  the 
consent  or  disagreement  of  parents  and  children  in  sup- 
porting the  true  religion,  as  conditioning  God's  bless- 
ing or  His  curse:  "Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah,  the 
prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful 
day  of  the  Lord:  and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the 
fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children 
to  their  fathers,  lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a 
curse."     The  practice  of  the  pious  in  training  their 


Girardeau  149 

children  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  after  the 
Old  Testament  canon  was  completed,  is  evinced  by  the 
case  of  Timothy,  to  whom  Paul  says :  "And  that  from 
a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus;"  and  he  had  previously  inti- 
mated who  Timothy's  instructors  were  when  he  alluded 
to  the  unfeigned  faith  which  dwelt  in  his  grandmother 
Lois,  and  his  mother  Eunice.  The  Spirit  of  New  Tes- 
tament teachings  on  this  subject  is  expressed  in  Paul's 
exhortation  to  parents  to  "bring  up"  their  children  "in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord";  that  is,  to 
give  them  a  Christian  education — to  train  them  in  the 
school  and  for  the  service  of  Christ,  their  Savior  and 
Lord. 

Having  taken  this  hasty  survey  of  Scripture  teach- 
ings on  this  subject,  let  us  also  look  at  some  of  the  con- 
siderations which  exhibit  the  inexpressible  importance 
of  the  family  as  a  school,  and  the  gigantic  responsi- 
bilities of  parents  as  its  divinely  appointed  preceptors. 

The  most  superficial  attention  to  the  matter  must 
impress  upon  us  the  fact  that  the  family  school  exerts 
an  incalculable  influence,  because  it  is  the  very  first  in 
which  human  beings  are  trained  for  time  and  eternity. 
From  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  takes  chronological 
precedence  of  all  others,  secular  or  ecclesiastical.  It  is 
one  into  which  the  pupils  enter  at  birth.  Their  first 
sense-perceptions  are  connected  with  the  faces  and  the 
voices  of  their  mothers  and  their  fathers.  From  them 
they  acquire,  by  absorption,  their  vernacular  tongue 
Avith  all  the  ideas  which  it  symbolizes.  Their  first  type 
of  thinking  is  assimilated  involuntarily  from  that  of 
their  parents.  They  know  them  before  they  know  God, 
and  derive  their  first  knowledge  of  God  Himself  fi-om 


150  Sermons 

them.  They  are  in  a  school  in  which  their  teachers  are 
their  parents.  Their  parents  are  to  them  the  first  in- 
terpreters alike  of  nature  and  the  Bible.  The  condi- 
tions of  instruction  are  the  most  favorable  that  can  be 
conceived.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  the  forming  and 
impressible  state  of  childhood,  its  boundless  credulity 
as  yet  unchecked  by  the  experience  of  untruth  and  de- 
ception, its  readiness  to  accept  the  testimony  of  all  with 
whom  it  comes  in  contact ;  and  on  the  other,  the  undis- 
puted authority  and  influence  of  its  parental  instruc- 
tors, founded  in  admittedly  superior  will  and  wielded 
in  tenderness  and  love.  No  wonder  it  has  passed  into  a 
proverb,  that  our  earliest  impressions  are  the  strongest. 
Like  the  bottom  inscriptions  upon  some  old  parch- 
ments, however  overlaid  and  crossed,  they  remain  clear 
when  the  later  are  obscured,  or  abide  when  they  are 
obliterated.  As  the  experienced  Christian  turns  in  the 
mysterious  process  of  death  to  the  happy  time  when 
first  he  knew  the  Lord,  so  it  is  an  affecting  natural  fact 
that  on  the  dying  bed  men  reproduce,  in  imagination, 
the  scenes  of  early  life.  Even  the  abandoned  profligate 
who  has  gone  through  gulfs  of  impurity,  and  whose 
mind  and  conscience  are  defiled,  reverts  at  last  to  the 
sweet  associations  of  his  boyhood's  home,  and  "babbles 
o'  green  fields"  over  which  he  once  roamed  an  uncon- 
taminated  child.  AVlio  can  measure  the  influence  of 
that  first  school  in  which  we  receive  our  earliest  and 
profoundest  impressions?  A  fragment  of  Scripture,  a 
bit  of  a  hymn,  a  scrap  of  a  prayer,  taught  by  a  moth- 
er's lips  to  the  child  lying  in  her  lap  or  bowing  at  her 
knee,  sometimes  comes  up  to  the  consciousness  of  the 
despairing  sinner  in  life's  last  struggles,  and  leads  to 
the  clutch  of  faith  upon  the  promise  of  salvation 
through  the  merits  of  Christ.     And,  on  the  contrary, 


Girardeau  151 

the  remembrance  of  wicked  words  and  infidel  expres- 
sions which  fell  from  a  parent's  lips  upon  the  ready 
ear  of  the  child,  may  arise  into  the  latest  consciousness 
of  life  to  deepen  unbelief  and  thicken  the  gloom  of 
death. 

This  leads  to  the  further  remark,  that  the  school  of 
childhood  is  not  only  a  source  of  enduring  impressions, 
but  a  nursery  of  fundamental  and  regulative  ideas.  Is 
not  this  abundantly  attested  by  facts?  The  child  is 
almost  sure,  unless  through  the  operation  of  some  excep- 
tional and  revolutionary  force,  to  adopt  and  maintain 
the  doctrines,  views  and  opinions  of  its  parents.  They 
are  absorbed  without  difficulty  and,  almost  as  a  matter 
of  course,  are  incorporated  into  his  intellectual  being, 
and  stamp  the  complexion  of  his  future  thinking.  The 
child  of  the  Pagan  naturally  becomes  a  Pagan;  the 
child  of  a  Mohammedan,  a  believer  in  the  Koran.  He 
who  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  born  of  an  Atheist  natu- 
rally acts  upon  the  testimony  of  his  earthly  father  that 
he  has  no  heavenly.  John  Stuart  Mill,  having  been 
bred  in  a  family  school  in  which  Atheism  was  taught, 
naturally  became  an  Atheist.  One  who  is  taught  by 
nominally  Christian  parents  absorbs,  in  accordance 
with  the  same  law,  nominally  Christian  views;  and  it 
is  a  matter  of  the  commonest  observation  that  the  sects 
and  denominations  into  which  nominal  Christianity  is 
divided,  in  the  main  perpetuate  their  existence  by  vir- 
tue of  birth  and  education,  rather  than  by  the  examina- 
tion of  e^ddence  and  judgment  rendered  upon  it.  It  is 
true — and  God  be  praised  that  it  is ! — that  the  almighty 
grace  of  the  ever-blessed  Spirit  is  not  tied  to  the  laws 
of  a  merely  natural  development,  but  sovereignly  op- 
erates not  only  to  the  reversal  of  false  regulative  ideas 
and  views  which  are  derived  from  education,  but  to 


152  Sermons 

the  destruction  of  the  fundamental  principle  of  inher- 
ent sin  itself,  from  which  all  religious  errors  and  all 
actual  transgressions  of  the  divine  law  proceed.  It  is 
left  on  record  for  our  instruction  that  Saul,  the  perse- 
cuting inquisitor,  was  thus  miraculously  converted; 
and  without  this  doctrine  delivered  to  us  clearly  in 
God's  word,  the  whole  cause  of  foreign  missions  would 
be  a  wild  vagary.  But  while  this  is  true,  and  must  be 
insisted  on,  it  must  also  be  admitted  that  ordinarily 
the  operations  of  God's  saving  grace  are  concurrent 
with  the  line  of  family  descent  and  family  culture. 
The  promise  of  salvation  Ijy  Jesus  Christ  is  indeed 
unto  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  to  as  many  as  the  Lord 
our  God  shall  call,  but  it  is  chiefly  and  emphatically 
to  those  who  profess  the  true  religion  and  to  their 
children. 

It  must  also  be  remarked,  by  way  of  qualification, 
that  the  correct  views  and  principles  instilled  by  par- 
ental instruction  into  their  children  cannot  be  expected 
of  themselves  to  preserve  them  in  future  life  from  the 
adoi^tion  of  erroneous  opinions  or  the  formation  of 
evil  characters.  That  result  might  fairly  be  looked  for 
if  their  development  were  unimpeded  by  antagonistic 
forces.  But  that  development  is  counteracted  and  hin- 
dered by  the  all-conditioning  law  of  inherent  deprav- 
ity, which  can  only  be  overcome  by  supernatural  grace. 
Still,  with  all  the  limitations  which  justice  requires  to 
be  imposed  upon  it,  the  position  in  the  main  is  unques- 
tionably true,  that  the  doctrines,  ideas  and  opinions 
which  the  parent  inserts  into  the  mind  of  the  child  are 
fundamental  and  regulative  in  their  influence.  Beyond 
doubt,  they  exercise  a  powerful  influence  upon  the 
future  career  of  the  child.  If  right,  they  act  as  bar- 
riers in  the  way  of  the  development  of  wickedness  both 


Girardeau  153 

in  speculation  and  in  practice;  and  they  become  the 
moulds  to  which  a  true  religious  system  easily  adjusts 
itself,  the  forms  in  which  a  true  religious  life  finds  its 
legitimate  expression.  If  wrong,  they  fall  in  with  the 
fatal  tendency  to  sin,  and  hasten  it  to  its  consummation 
in  open  heresy  or  immorality. 

This  becomes  still  more  evident  when  we  consider 
the  implicit  faith  of  the  child  in  the  authority  of  the 
parent  as  a  teacher.  Not  yet  arrived  at  that  period  of 
mental  growth  when  he  becomes  individually  respon- 
sible for  his  beliefs  and  opinions  in  consequence  of  his 
ability  to  investigate  evidence  and  his  obligation  to 
follow  it,  he  looks  up  to  his  parent  as  being  to  him  the 
vicar  and  representative  of  God.  He  has  not  the  right 
to  question  the  parent's  authority.  To  him  his  father 
is  infallible.  There  is  no  appeal  possible  to  any  higher 
human  authority,  for  there  is  to  him  no  higher  human 
authority.  If  the  father  should  teach  his  young  child 
that  the  Bible  does  not  deliver  the  doctrine  of  the  deity 
of  Christ,  or  of  an  expiatory  atonement,  or  of  the 
supernatural  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  of  the  eternal 
punishment  of  the  wricked,  how,  in  his  immature  con- 
dition, could  the  child  possibly  know  the  incorrectness 
of  these  instructions?  Would  they  not  be  the  Bible's 
teachings  to  him?  Is  not  his  father  the  unerring  ex- 
i:)ounder  of  truth  to  him?  No  scholars  are  so  ready  to 
imbibe  the  views  of  teachers  as  are  the  young  members 
of  the  family  school  those  of  their  parents.  They  lis- 
ten to  them  as  they  would  to  God. 

This  implicit  faith  is  moreover  enhanced  immensely 
by  the  love  and  veneration  which  the  youthful  learner 
cherishes  for  his  parent.  And  as  he  grows  there  natu- 
rally springs  up  a  partisan  feeling  of  prodigious  power 
Avhich  leads  him  to  maintain  and  vindicate  the  ideas 


154  Sermons 

and  opinions  received  from  so  dear  and  so  venerable 
a  source.  The  tendency,  even  when  started  by  convic- 
tion, to  depart  from  them  is  held  in  check  by  the  almost 
irresistible  feeling  that  injustice  would  be  done  to  his 
parents  and  duty  to  them  would  be  infringed  by  a 
breach  with  their  instructions;  a  sentiment  which  is 
heightened  if  they  be  dead,  and  can  no  more  speak  for 
themselves.  Their  graves  are  seals  of  their  instruc- 
tions, and  the  monuments  above  them  are  protests 
against  their  abandonment.  He  who  in  mature  life 
embraces  truth  in  opposition  to  error  taught  by  a  par- 
ent's lips,  pays  as  striking  a  tribute  as  can  well  be  fur- 
nished on  earth  to  the  majestic  authority  of  evidence, 
and  the  imperious  force  of  conviction.  It  will  readily 
be  conceded  by  us  who  profess  to  be  Christians,  that 
our  little  children  are  bound  by  filial  dependence  and 
obligation  to  accept  the  Bible  at  our  hands,  and  to 
receive  those  interpretations  of  its  meaning  which  we 
put  upon  it.  But  if  we  take  a  broad  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, we  must  also  allow  that  the  general  rule  holds  in 
regard  to  the  religious  instruction  of  all  children  by 
their  parents.  The  child  of  the  Mohammedan,  in  his 
tender  and  unthinldng  years,  is  bound  to  comply  with 
the  authority  of  his  father  which  delivers  to  him  the 
Koran  as  his  directory  of  faith  and  dut3^  The  rule 
holds  in  the  various  special  applications  of  which  it  is 
capable.  The  mere  child  has  no  right  to  affirm  inde- 
pendence of  his  father's  instructions.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  he  has  the  right  to  adopt  opinions  from 
any  human  quarter  which  contradict  those  of  his  par- 
ents. Indeed,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  he  could.  The  conditions  do  not  exist  for 
an  intelligent  comparison  of  opinions  and  tenets.  He 
is  the  helpless  receiver  of  his  father's  faith.     His  re- 


Girardeau  155 

ligion  is  determined  by  the  nod  of  his  father's  head. 
If  this  be  true,  it  is  seen  that  the  responsibility  of  the 
parental  teacher  is  nothing  less  than  tremendous.  His 
magisterial  authority  may,  no  doubt  often  does,  project 
his  child  into  a  path  of  development,  the  logical  result 
of  which  is  hell.  Oh,  how  urgent  is  the  necessity  for 
the  parent  to  settle  the  views  which  he  impresses  upon 
the  plastic  mind  of  his  child  upon  candid  and  patient 
examination  of  the  truth,  with  humble  dependence  upon 
God  and  earnest  supplication  for  His  guidance !  He 
cannot,  if  wrong,  plead  the  authority  of  his  own  par- 
ents. That  plea  will  vanish  into  smoke  at  the  touch  of 
the  last  fire.  The  religious  beliefs  of  the  adult  man  are 
not  evolved,  like  the  instincts  of  animals,  by  a  law  of 
imminent  necessit}^  operating  along  the  line  of  parental 
propagation.  A  point  is  inevitably  reached  in  the  pro- 
gress of  every  human  individual  when  his  own  personal 
responsibility  emerges  for  the  kind  of  religion  which 
he  adopts. 

But,  when  that  point  has  been  reached,  the  question 
presses,  TV^iat  value  ought  to  be  attached  to  the  relig- 
ious ideas  which  have  been  derived  from  parental  in- 
struction? I  venture  to  answer  that  they  ought  not  to 
be  held  as  settled  and  ultimate  conclusions  in  accord- 
ance with  which  one's  personal  faith  and  practice  must 
be  determined.  Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  ought  they  to 
be  treated  as  possessed  of  no  value.  They  are  vener- 
able presumptions  which  must,  on  solid  grounds  of 
evidence,  be  rebutted  before  they  can  be  legitimately 
discarded.  They  are  tentative,  working  hypotheses 
which  are  to  be  tested  by  comparison  with  facts,  and 
sustained  or  rejected  in  view  of  the  whole  evidence 
which  is  accessible  to  the  inquirer  after  truth.  The 
mind  ought  to  hold  the  position  of  neutrality,  of  in- 


156  Sermons 

difference — not  to  the  truth,  for  that,  as  the  very  end 
of  the  inquiry,  is  of  supreme  consequence — but  of  in- 
difference as  to  what  shall  prove  to  be  the  truth  amidst 
the  rival  claims  of  conflicting  opinions  after  an  un- 
prejudiced and  sober,  a  painstaking  and  prayerful  ex- 
amination. Even  when  these  conditions  are  complied 
with — as  complied  with  they  certainly  ought  to  be — 
the  inquirer  starts  out  with  the  weight  of  presumption 
vastly  preponderating  in  favor  of  opinions  sanctioned 
and,  as  it  were,  consecrated  by  parental  authority  and 
by  filial  obedience  and  love.  Here  again  we  cannot  fail 
to  be  struck  by  the  responsibility  of  the  parent.  But 
it  is  a  fact  that  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  no 
such  investigation  is  instituted.  The  man  is  content 
with  the  views  which  as  a  child  he  received  from  the 
lips  of  his  father  and  mother,  lips,  perhaps,  mute  in 
the  grave,  and  he  goes  on  treading  the  path  beaten 
by  the  generations  which  preceded  him.  Like  herds  of 
cattle  following  other  herds  of  cattle,  the  mass  of  men 
tramp  on  until  the  light  of  eternity  blazes  upon  them 
and  reveals,  when  too  late,  their  suicidal  folly  and 
guilt.  In  this  view  of  the  subject  no  language  can 
exaggerate  the  awful  accountability  resting  upon  par- 
ents for  the  instruction  they  communicate  to  their  chil- 
dren. 

In  connection  with  this  strain  of  remark  we  cannot 
but  be  impressed  by  the  thought  that  in  the  family 
school,  more  by  far  than  in  any  other,  the  force  is 
peculiarly  felt  of  teaching  by  example.  Allusion  is 
not  here  made  to  the  concurrence  of  example  with 
didactic  precept,  though  that  is  worthy  of  serious  re- 
flection, but  to  the  powerful  teaching  of  example  itself. 
The  child  is  imitative,  and  very  naturally  copies  the 
example  of  the  parent.     It  is  to  this  law  Paul  adverts 


Girardeau  157 

when  he  exhorts  Christians  to  be  "imitators  of  God  as 
dear  children."  The  life  of  his  parents  is  a  daily  study 
to  the  child.  It  is  ever  before  him.  The  words  spoken, 
the  acts  done  by  the  father  and  the  mother  in  the  un- 
restrained freedom  of  the  family  circle  are  like  a 
steady  rain  falling,  not  upon  the  rock,  but  upon  the 
thirsty  earth.  They  are  drunk  in  and  appropriated  by 
the  imitative  and  assimilating  powers  of  the  child. 
This  aspect  of  the  subject  might  be  copiously  illus- 
trated, but  time  would  fail,  and  it  is  so  plain  to  the 
barest  observation  as  to  render  expansion  almost  need- 
less. 

I  cannot  dismiss  this  special  topic  without  calling 
attention  to  the  enormous  diffusive  and  traditional  in- 
fluence of  the  family  as  an  institute  of  instruction. 
Each  family  tends  to  diffuse  its  influence  by  ramify- 
ing its  connections  through  intermarriage,  until  a  con- 
geries of  circles  is  formed  intersecting  one  another  and 
widening  out,  who  can  calculate  whither?  The  ideas 
and  doctrines  asserted  in  one  family  may  in  this  way 
receive  a  dissemination  which  will  reach  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth. 

The  traditional  power  of  the  family  is  equally  in- 
calculable. The  sacrifice  offered  by  Noah  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family  on  Mount  Ararat  has  by  this  power  im- 
pressed itself  upon  the  nations,  and  continues  to  affect 
their  religious  views  and  rites  to  the  present  hour.  The 
usages  of  Abraham's  family  are  observed  by  the  Jews 
to  this  day.  The  ideas  and  doctrines  once  taught  in 
the  family  school  are  handed  down  from  father  to  son 
to  distant  generations.  Those,  my  brethren,  which  we 
deliver  to  our  families  will  project  themselves  into  the 
future,  and  will  affect  the  immortal  destinies  of  souls. 
The  stream  of  traditional  influence,  running  through 


158  Sermons 

successive  family  lines,  will  not  cease  until  it  ripples 
against  the  judgment  throne;  nor  will  it  be  arrested 
there,  but  rolling  around  it,  it  will  flow  on  forever, 
either  mingling  with  the  waters  of  the  river  of  life 
]3roceeding  from  the  blest  seat  of  God  and  the  Lamb 
or  with  the  Styx  and  the  Acheron  of  hell. 

Let  us  next  consider  the  Family  as  an  Institute  of 
Government. 

The  word  of  God  speaks  expressly  upon  this  subject. 
It  clearlv  conveys  the  right  to  the  parent,  and  enjoins 
upon  him  the  duty  to  exercise  government  over  his 
children,  and  enforces  upon  children  the  obligation  to 
honor  and  obey  their  parents.  God,  in  Genesis,  says: 
"For  I  know  him  [Abraham]  that  he  will  command 
his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  and  they 
shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judg- 
ment; that  the  Lord  may  luring  upon  Abraham  that 
which  He  hath  spoken  of  him."  Of  so  great  conse- 
quence did  He  esteem  this  primal  duty  of  all  religion 
that  He  gave  it  a  formal  and  permanent  enforcement 
in  the  Ten  Commandments:  "Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother,  that  th}^  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee."  It  is  an  acknowl- 
edged principle  in  accordance  with  which  the  Com- 
mandments are  expounded,  that  an  eminent  instance  of 
a  class  of  relations,  with  their  corresponding  obliga- 
tions, is  singled  out  and  emphasized  as  representative 
and  inclusive  of  the  whole  class.  Here  the  class  is 
inferiors,  superiors,  and  equals.  It  challenges  notice 
that  God  signalized  the  special  relation  of  parents  and 
children  as  the  highest  and  most  important  of  the 
whole  class.  This  furnishes  us  the  divine  estimate  of 
the  relative  duties  of  parents  and  children. 


Girardeau  159 

Can  I,  just  at  this  point,  do  better  than  simply  to 
cite  the  felicitous,  impressive  and  exhaustive  statement 
of  the  duties  enjoined  by  this  Commandment,  given  in 
the  Westminster  Larger  Catechism,  substituting  for 
the  general  words  inferiors  and  superiors  where  they 
occur  in  that  venerable  formulary  the  special  terms 
children  and  parents? 

"The  honor  which  children  owe  to  their  parents  is, 
all  due  reverence  in  heart,  word,  and  behavior;  prayer 
and  thanksgiving  for  them;  imitation  of  their  virtues 
and  graces;  willing  obedience  to  their  lawful  com- 
mands and  counsels;  due  submission  to  their  correc- 
tions; fidelity  to,  defence  and  maintenance  of  their  per- 
sons and  authority  .  .  .  bearing  with  their  infirm- 
ities and  covering  them  in  love,  so  that  they  may  be 
an  honor  to  them  and  their  government." 

"The  sins  of  children  against  their  parents  are,  all 
neglect  of  the  duties  required  toward  them;  envying 
at,  contempt  of,  and  rebellion  against  their  persons 
.  in  their  lawful  counsels,  commands,  and  cor- 
rections ;  cursing,  mocking,  and  all  such  refractory  and 
scandalous  carriage,  as  proves  a  shame  and  dishonor  to 
them  and  their  government." 

''It  is  required  of  parents  ...  to  love,  pray  for 
and  bless  their  children;  to  instruct,  counsel  and  ad- 
monish them;  countenancing,  commending,  and  re- 
warding such  as  do  well;  and  discountenancing,  re- 
proving, and  chastising  such  as  do  ill ;  protecting,  and 
providing  for  them  all  things  necessary  for  soul  and 
body;  and  by  grave,  wise,  holy,  and  exemplary  car- 
riage, to  procure  glory  to  God,  honor  to  themselves, 
and  so  to  preserve  that  authority  which  God  hath  put 
upon  them." 


160  Sermons 

"The  sins  of  parents  are,  besides  the  neglect  of  the 
duties  required  of  them,  an  inordinate  seeking  of  them- 
selves, their  own  glory,  ease,  profit,  or  pleasure;  com- 
manding things  unlawful,  or  not  in  the  power  of  chil- 
dren to  perform;  counselling,  encouraging  or  favoring 
them  in  that  which  is  evil;  dissuading,  discouraging, 
or  discountenancing  them  in  that  which  is  good;  cor- 
recting them  unduly;  careless  exposing,  or  leaving 
them  to  wrong,  temptation  and  danger;  provoking 
them  to  Avrath ;  or  in  any  way  dishonoring  themselves, 
or  lessening  their  authority  by  an  unjust,  indiscreet, 
rigorous,  or  remiss  behavior."  And  to  this  it  must  be 
added  that  God  has  annexed  a  special  and  explicit 
promise  of  long  life  and  prosperity,  as  far  as  it  shall 
serve  for  his  glory  and  their  own  good,  to  all  such  as 
keep  this  Commandment — a  promise  repeated  in  the 
New  Testament,  to  which  children  should  pay  peculiar 
heed,  if  they  would  enjoy  God's  blessing  in  the  preser- 
vation and  success  of  their  lives.  Like  the  pillar  which 
protected  and  guided  ancient  Israel,  it  has  as  well  a 
face  of  threatening  darkness  as  of  cheering  light,  and 
impliedly  denounces  the  signal  displeasure  of  God  upon 
those  who  dishonor  and  disobey  their  parents.  It  may 
be  that  many  a  young,  hopeful  life  has  been  blighted 
and  many  an  early  grave  been  filled  in  consequence  of 
the  transgression  of  this  divine  command. 

The  woful  case  of  Eli,  the  venerable  priest,  furnishes 
a  solemn  and  affecting  warning  to  parents  who  neglect 
the  duties  of  family  government.  The  record  is :  "And 
the  Lord  said  to  Samuel,  Behold,  I  will  do  a  thing  in 
Israel,  at  which  both  the  ears  of  every  one  that  heareth 
it  shall  tingle.  In  that  day  I  will  perform  against  Eli 
all  things  which  I  have  spoken  against  his  house :  when 
I  begin  I  will  also  make  an  end.    For  I  have  told  him 


Girardeau  161 

that  I  will  judge  his  house  forever  for  the  iniquity 
which  he  knoweth;  because  his  sons  made  themselves 
vile,  and  he  restrained  them  not.  And,  therefore,  I 
have  sworn  unto  the  house  of  Eli  that  the  iniquity  of 
Eli's  house  shall  not  be  purged  with  sacrifice  nor  offer- 
ing forever."  The  awful  judgment  did  not  tarry.  The 
army  of  Israel  was  routed  by  the  Philistines  with  great 
slaughter,  the  ark  of  God  was  captured,  and  the  two 
sons  of  Eli,  Hophni  and  Phinehas  were  slain.  The 
alarming  tidings  borne  hastily  to  the  poor  old  man 
brought  his  life  to  a  sudden  and  tragic  termination. 

The  duties  of  family  government  are  clearly  enjoined 
in  the  Xew  Testament.  Not  only  are  parents  com- 
manded to  exercise  towards  their  children  that  sort  of 
discipline  suggested  by  the  words  "nurture  of  the 
Lord" — a  discipline  by  which  the  growth  of  their  fac- 
ulties and  the  increase  of  their  knowledge  is  secured, 
but  also  that  which  is  supposed  in  the  words,  "admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord" — a  discipline  of  warning  and  censure, 
of  restraint  and  government. 

After  what  has  been  quoted  from  the  Westminster 
Standards,  there  is  no  need,  and  there  would  be  no 
time,  to  enter  into  a  detailed  specification  of  the  duties 
and  offences  connected  with  the  government  of  house- 
holds. But  I  cannot  forbear  indicating  a  few  thoughts 
bearing  upon  the  inexpressible  responsibilities  of  par- 
ents in  relation  to  that  divinely  appointed  office.  The 
reflection  ought  solemnly  to  arrest  their  attention,  that 
the  family  is  peculiarly  an  institute  in  which  habits  are 
daily  forming  which  must  tend  to  stamp  the  whole 
complexion  of  their  children's  lives.  We  all  loiow,  who 
have  encountered  the  duties  and  conflicts  of  life,  what 
the  force  of  early  habit  is,  from  our  own  happy  or 
bitter  experience.     How  often  have  we  thanked  God 


162  Sermons 

for  habits  induced  in  our  youth — that  of  daily  prayer, 
for  example — under  the  training  of  pious  and  perhaps 
departed  parents !  How  often  groaned  in  anguish  of 
soul  over  vicious  and  injurious  habits  established  in 
that  period  now  irrevocably  gone,  or  the  failure  to 
form  better  when  the  favorable  opportunity  was  ours ! 
Alas,  the  silken  thread  which  was  then  easily  bent  has 
now  hardened  into  a  rigid  band  of  iron!  What  dif- 
ferent mental  power,  what  different  attainments,  what 
different  characters  we  might  have  had  if  our  early 
habits  had  been  rightly  moulded !  The  chance  is  gone, 
and  no  lamentations  can  bring  it  back.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  the  particular  habit  of  obedience.  It  is  one 
which  it  is  emphatically  the  province  of  family  govern- 
ment to  form.  The  will  of  the  child  ought  to  conform 
to  the  sui^erior  will  of  the  parent,  and  the  season  to 
accomplish  this  is  when  that  of  the  former  is  the  most 
flexible.  There  nearly  always  comes  a  time  when  an 
issue  occurs  between  these  two  wills  which  must  be 
settled  or  the  supremacy  of  the  parent  is  abdicated; 
and  once  lost,  it  is  seldom  recovered.  So  at  the  origin 
of  the  race  the  will  of  our  first  parents  was  confronted 
with  the  naked  will  of  God  unsupported  by  any  osten- 
sible reason  other  than  that  of  divine  authority.  Such 
was  the  test  of  obedience  to  which  they,  and  we  repre- 
sented by  them,  were  subjected.  They  refusd  compli- 
ance with  their  Maker's  will,  and  the  temper  of  univer- 
sal disobedience  was  infused  like  a  virus  into  the  race. 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  neglect  of  parents  to  insist 
upon  this  habit  of  obedience  in  their  children  may  more 
and  more  engender  a  spirit  of  lawless  insubordination 
which  even  now  threatens  to  be  the  dynamite  of  social 
order,  an  explosive  force  under  the  foundations  of  all 
regulated  government,  ecclesiastical  and  secular.     The 


Girardeau  1G3 

true  cure  of  this  fell  tendency  ^yould  be  most  effect- 
ually sought  in  the  proper  government  of  the  young. 

It  is  also  a  consideration  that  should  deeply  impress 
the  minds  of  parents,  that  their  government  of  the 
family  makes  it  a  court,  the  decisions  of  which  consti- 
tute a  body  of  precedents  tending  to  determine  the 
judgments  and  conduct  of  children  in  their  subsequent 
lives.  These  decisions  form  a  code  of  unwritten  law  to 
which  it  is  natural  that  children  should  refer.  Is  it  not 
to  be  presumed  by  them  that  these  decisions  of  the 
family  court  were  right?  And  would  not  every  senti- 
ment of  veneration  and  affection  lead  the  filial  sub- 
jects of  this  rule  to  regulate  by  them  their  personal 
decisions  of  the  actual  cases  w^hich  arise  in  their  own 
experience  ?  And  to  heighten  the  force  of  this  thought, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  remember  that  the  parent  com- 
bines in  his  single  person,  in  this  little  sphere  of  gov- 
ernment, all  the  functions  which  on  a  larger  field  are 
usually  distributed  among  different  officers.  He  is  at 
the  same  time  clothed  with  legislative,  judicial  and 
executive  powers.  He  gives  the  law,  he  expounds,  ap- 
plies and  executes  it.  ^¥lienever  a  case  comes  up  for 
trial  and  decision  in  this  unique  parental  court,  he  is 
both  judge  and  jury;  he  decides  questions  both  of  law 
and  of  fact.  It  is  true  that  in  enlightened  civil  gov- 
ernments the  father's  sovereignty  is  limited  by  the  law 
of  the  land;  he  is  not  invested  with  the  power  of  life 
and  death.  But  in  all  ordinary  cases  his  will  is  su- 
preme, his  decisions  ultimate.  There  is  no  appeal  com- 
petent to  the  child.  Whatever  hardship  or  injustice  his 
natural  sense  of  right  may  lead  him  to  conceive  that  he 
has  suffered,  naught  is  left  him  but  implicitly  to  sub- 
mit. He  must  bear  the  blows  under  which  he  writhes 
and  weep  in  secret  over  his  wrongs.    The  parent  may 


164  Sermons 

be  choleric,  hasty  and  extreiriS  in  administering  chas- 
tisement; the  poor  urchin  has  no  redress.  He  must 
content  himself  with  squirming  under  the  birch  and 
perhaps  making  rash  and  unredeemable  promises  in 
order  to  abridge  the  suffering ;  as  was  said  to  have  been 
the  case  with  the  sweet  singer  of  the  British  Calvinistic 
churches  who,  when  a  child,  was  peremptorily  forbid- 
den by  his  father  to  make  any  more  verses.  While 
smarting  under  the  correction  inflicted  for  his  violation 
of  the  command,  he  piteously  cried : 

"Pray,  father,  do  some  pity  take, 
And  I  will  no  more  verses  make." 

Mighty  little  supreme  court !  Powerful  little  empire ! 
Only  the  ferule  may  be  its  sceptre  and  the  darkened 
chamber  its  dungeon;  but  its  autocracy  is  as  potent  as 
that  of  the  Caesars;  its  sanctions  well-nigh  as  formida- 
ble as  those  which  are  wielded  over  his  vassals  by  the 
Czar  of  all  the  Russians.  Is  it  not  easy  to  see  how  such 
a  government,  so  manifold,  so  nearly  unlimited  in  its 
power,  so  strongly  seconded  by  the  natural  affections, 
exercised  during  the  forming  period  of  childhood,  must 
impress  itself,  and  impress  itself  almost  determina- 
tively,  upon  the  future  career  of  its  youthful  subjects? 
Callous  must  be  the  sensibilities,  inhuman  the  heart 
of  the  parent  who  is  not  affected  by  the  responsibilities 
which  this  view  of  the  subject  thrusts  upon  his  mind. 
There  is  a  tribunal  before  which  he  must  stand  at  last 
to  give  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  on  earth  he 
discharged  the  momentous  trusts  reposed  in  his  hands. 
Tremendous  Bar  of  God !  Who  of  us  shall  appear  be- 
fore Thee  with  consciences  guiltless  in  this  thing? 
^Yho  of  us  shall  dare  to  confront  Thee  without  a  hope 


Girardeau  165 

in  the  mercy  of  a  heavenly  Father  and  the  blood  of 
an  Elder  Brother? 

Let  us,  in  the  last  place,  view  the  Family  as  an 
Institute  of  Worship. 

We  would  be  disappointed  were  we  to  look  in  the 
Scriptures  for  many  express  inculcations  of  the  duty 
of  family  worship.     The  reason  is  plain.     That  duty 
is  enforced  by  the  most  obvious  dictates  of  nature 
itself;  it  is  one  of  the  elements  of  natural  religion 
which  the  Bible,  as  a  supernatural  revelation,  of  neces- 
sity presupposes.    Its  very  silence,  so  far  as  the  formal 
injunction  of  the  duty  is  concerned,  is  exceedingly  sig- 
nificant.   For  a  like  reason  no  doubt  it  is  that  Scrip- 
ture nowhere  presents  an  elaborate  argument  for  the 
existence  of  God  or  even  for  the  Trinity.    These  were 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  religion  of  nature,  and 
are  treated  as  great  presuppositions  to  be  universally 
and  unhesitatingly  assumed.     Yet  the  awful  impreca- 
tion, "Pour  out  Thy  fury  upon  the  heathen  that  know 
Thee  not,  and  upon  the  families  that  call  not  on  Thy 
name,"  while  it  furnishes  support  to  the  view  just  ex- 
pressed,  also  enforces,  under  sanctions   of  the   most 
dreadful  character,  the  duty  of  family  worship.    It  is 
like  a  flash  of  lightning  on  a  dark  night  that  at  once 
lights  up  the  whole  face  of  a  landscape.     They  who 
neglect  this  obligation  are  classed  with  heathen,  and 
are  threatened  with  the  fury  of  the  Almighty  poured 
upon  them  like  a  storm.    It  is  not  worth  while  to  argue 
the  case.    He  who  theoretically  denies  this  obligation, 
subverts  religion  and  cannot  decently  appropriate  to 
himself  the  Christian  name.    But  we  are  apt,  through 
weakness,  to  neglect  acknowledged  duties,  and  a  few 
things  may  appropriately  be  said  concerning  the  rea- 


166  Sermons 

sons  for  the  discharge  of  this  office  and  the  motives 
which  incite  to  its  performance. 

The  parent  is  by  the  appointment  of  nature,  and  in 
conformity  with  the  feelings  implanted  by  nature,  the 
minister  of  worship  for  his  family.  He  is  not  only 
God's  representative  of  them,  but  their  representative 
to  God.  The  congregation  for  which  he  officiates  is  the 
beloved  little  flock,  every  one  of  whom  is  tied  to  him 
by  the  tenderest  bonds — is  bone  of  his  bones  and  flesh 
of  his  flesh.  His  function  it  is  to  read  to  them  the 
blessed  word  of  God,  and  expound  it  for  their  under- 
standing. His  function  it  is  to  collect  their  praises  and 
their  prayers,  and  bowing  with  them  at  their  own 
household  altar,  to  present  their  joint  worship  to  his- 
Father  and  their  Father,  to  his  Redeemer  and  theirs. 
T\liat  moving  considerations  impel  him  to  its  dis- 
charge !  How  can  he  refuse  to  lead  them  in  offering 
thanksgiving  to  the  Father  of  mercies  for  perpetually 
recurring  benefits,  new  ever}'  morning  and  fresh,  every 
evening;  for  daily  bread,  for  the  comforts  of  life,  for 
the  preservation  of  health,  for  protection  against  a 
thousand  dangers,  for  deliverance  from  innumerable 
calamities  which  are  ever  impending,  and,  above  all, 
for  the  unspeakable  blessings  of  redemption?  Will 
he,  by  omitting  so  plain  a  duty,  teach  them,  through  his 
example,  to  trample  down  the  feeling  of  dependence  on 
their  God  and  Saviour,  and  indoctrinate  them  in  the 
dark  crime  of  ingratitude?  The  perils  at  birth,  the 
contingencies  environing  the  cradle,  the  stormy  exi- 
gencies of  life,  the  prospect  of  the  bed  of  death,  of  the 
family  gathering  in  anguish  and  tears  around  some 
dying  member  of  the  beloved  little  circle,  of  the  sad 
funeral  procession  following  the  dust  of  the  departed 
to  the  devouring  grave;    the  temptations  incident  to 


Girardeau  167 

childhood  and  youth,  the  need  of  atoning  blood  to 
cleanse  from  guilt,  and  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  convert,  and  sanctify,  to  strengthen  and  console, — all, 
all  urge  him  to  erect  and  maintain  the  altar  of  worship 
in  his  house,  and  to  render  there  his  morning  and  his 
evening  incense  of  adoration,  thanksgiving  and  prayer. 
It  deserves,  moreover,  to  be  remarked,  that  in  con- 
ducting family  worship,  the  parent  enjoys  the  special 
and  eminent  advantage  of  pleading  before  God  his 
peculiar  promise  to  his  people  and  their  seed,  of  throw- 
ing himself  and  them  upon  the  provisions  of  that 
eternal  covenant  which  is  ordered  in  all  things  and 
sure.  It  is  true  that  this  may  be  done,  and  ought  con- 
tinually to  be  done,  in  his  own  private  approaches  to 
the  throne  of  grace.  But  there  is  a  singular  propriety 
in  his  pressing  in  the  midst  of  his  children  their  com- 
mon relation  with  him  to  God's  covenant  and  its 
promises.  Besides  the  answer  which  might,  by  faith, 
be  expected  to  be  returned  to  these  joint  petitions,  in 
itself  no  small  consideration,  these  desirable  results 
would  be  also  secured, — God's  covenant  would  be 
recognized  and  honored  by  the  concerted  worship  of 
the  whole  family,  the  instructions  touching  its  blessed 
provisions  and  promises  didactically  impressed  upon 
the  children  would  receive  additional  and  affecting 
enforcement  by  praise  and  prayer;  their  own  connec- 
tion with  the  covenant  would  be  daily  brought  to  their 
attention,  and  so  be  inworked  into  their  habits  of 
thought  and  feeling ;  and  it  might  be  fairly  hoped  that 
they,  following  the  example  of  their  parents,  would 
themselves  be  led  to  plead  with  the  God  of  the  cove- 
nant their  own  interest  in  his  promise  of  salvation. 


168  Sermons 

In  conclusion,  suffer  me,  brethren  and  friends,  to 
address  to  those  of  you  who  are  parents,  a  few  plain, 
practical  counsels  suggested  by  this  subject. 

In  the  first  place,  I  entreat  you  to  remember  that  the 
obligation  resting  upon  you  to  teach  your  children  the 
religion  you  profess  is  divinely  appointed,  indestructi- 
ble and  inalienable.  It  is  God  who  says:  Bring  up 
your  children.  That  in  which  you  are  to  bring  them 
up  is  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  The 
relation  of  these  beloved  pupils  to  you  ordinarih^ 
terminates  only  at  death.  It  is  you  who  are  enjoined 
to  do  this  duty:  "Ye  fathers,  bring  up  your  children 
in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  Conse- 
quently you  cannot,  without  guilt,  transfer  this  office 
to  others.  Every  institute  and  means  of  instruction 
has  its  own  allotted  place.  Yours  is  the  family.  How- 
ever useful  in  its  way  the  Sabbath  School  may  be,  its 
teachers  are  not  the  parents  of  your  children.  You 
cannot  roll  off  upon  them  the  function  your  Lord 
assigns  to  you.  I  need  not  say.  Teach  your  children 
the  word  of  God  and  the  Gospel  of  your  salvation. 
But  I  counsel  you  to  tread  in  the  steps  of  those  who 
have  gone  before  you  to  glory,  and  see  to  it  that  they 
commit  to  memory  and  recite  the  Shorter  Catechism. 
Cause  them  also  to  memorize  some  choice  Psalms  and 
Hymns,  containing  the  essential  features  of  the  plan  of 
salvation.  Verse  is  more  easily  retained  than  prose, 
and  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  sweet  songs  of 
Zion  linger  upon  the  lips  of  the  dying  and  sustain  and 
refresh  them  in  their  departing  moments. 

In  the  second  place,  rule  your  children  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord.  Do  not,  like  poor  old  Eli,  allow  them  to 
make  themselves  vile  because  you  restrain  them  not. 
Suffer  the  word  of  plainness.     If  they  have  grown 


Girardeau  169 

beyond  the  reach  of  parental  correction,  use  authorita- 
tive command,  plead  with  them,  pray  with  them.  Re- 
strain them  from  all  sin  that  comes  under  your  eye, 
especially  from  open  and  presumptuous  transgression. 
Restrain  them  from  pleasure  promenades,  and  from 
riding  and  boating  excursions  on  God's  holy  day.  Re- 
strain them  within  your  doors  when  the  shades  of 
night  allure  the  wicked  to  prowl.  Restrain  them  from 
unchristian  companionship;  from  godless  clubs  and 
drinking  parties;  from  the  theatre,  the  race  course, 
and  the  circus;  from  the  gambling  saloon,  the  dancing 
hall,  and  the  skating  rink.  Restrain  them  from  the 
dancing  school.  Say  not,  Is  it  not  a  little  one?  Yes, 
but,  like  little  Zoar,  it  is  too  near  to  Sodom.  It  is  a 
nursery  of  greater  evils.  Grace  of  body — what  is  it  in 
comparison  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  adorns  and 
saves  the  soul?  Your  children  belong  to  Christ  and 
His  church;  train  them  not  by  your  parental  govern- 
ment as  subjects  of  the  devil  and  votaries  of  the  world. 
Bring  them  up  in  the  admonition  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  God  forbid  that  I  should  assume  the  harsh 
tone  of  the  censor !  Oh,  no.  I  come  short  in  all  things, 
and  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints;  but  this  has 
always  been  my  testimony,  and  this  is  my  testimony 
now.  This  is  narrow,  it  may  be  said.  Yea,  but  not 
narrower  than  that  straight  gate  and  that  narrow  way 
through  which  a  few  enter  into  life.  One  would  not 
wish  to  be  broader  than  Jesus.  AVhatever  may  be  the 
case  in  the  sphere  of  doctrine,  in  the  sphere  of  life, 
the  church  of  the  present  day  is  in  danger  of  defection 
and  apostasy  because  of  her  compliance  with  the  prac- 
tices of  the  world.  O  Christian  fathers  and  mothers, 
it  is  largely  in  your  hands  to  arrest  the  fatal  tendency. 


170  Sermons 

In  the  third  place,  maintain  family  worship.  Like 
Noah  on  Ararat,  building  his  altar,  and  in  the  midst 
01  his  family  offering  praise  for  their  great  deliverance, 
erect  your  altar,  and  in  the  bosom  of  your  household 
render  thanksgivings  to  God  for  the  greater  redemption 
effected  by  His  Son.  Like  Job,  invoke  upon  the 
children  of  your  loins  the  sprinkling  of  atoning  blood. 
Do  this  while  you  live,  and  when  the  offices  of  piety 
on  earth  are  drawing  to  a  close,  like  the  dying  Jacob, 
lean  upon  the  staff  of  your  pilgrimage  and  in  the 
midst  of  your  children  pay  your  last  homage  to  your 
covenant  God  and  Saviour.  Will  you  plead  that  you 
are  ashamed  to  vrsy  with  your  family?  Wliat !  When 
you  remember  the  shame  to  which  your  incarnate  God 
went  down  for  you  ?  Will  you  plead  timidity  ?  What ! 
Would  you  not,  in  defence  of  your  family,  face  an 
armed  and  ferocious  mob?  Afraid?  Then  ask  your 
wives  to  officiate  for  you.  Will  you  plead  poverty  of 
language?  What!  Were  you  dumb,  would  it  not  be 
your  duty  to  kneel  in  the  midst  of  your  family  and 
lift  your  eyes  and  hands  to  heaven  and  groan?  As 
for  those  quack  remedies  for  bashfulness — books  of 
forms — it  is  enough  to  say  that  they  are  neither  sug- 
gested by  nature  nor  prescribed  in  our  divine  dis- 
pensatory. Will  you  plead  the  want  of  time  ?  What ! 
AVhen  you  think  of  the  death-bed,  the  meeting  at  the 
bar  of  judgment,  and  the  unending  ages  of  eternity? 
Let  those  of  us  who  have  from  whatever  cause  neg- 
lected this  great  duty  overcome  our  difficulties  and 
address  ourselves  to  its  discharge.  God  will  help  those 
who  make  the  effort.  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  will 
be  sufficient  for  them,  and  His  strength  will  be  made 
perfect  in  their  weakness.  Thus  treating  our  families 
as  institutes  of  religious  instruction,  government  and 


Girardeau  171 

worship,  we  shall  make  our  homes  on  earth  prepara- 
tory schools  for  our  glorious  home  in  heaven.  Our 
Father's  house !  There  Himself  will  preside  at  the 
table  He  shall  spread,  and  our  Elder  Brother  will 
serve  at  the  banquet  of  an  ineffable  communion.  There 
glorified  parents  and  children  will  together  recount  the 
mercies  of  their  earthly  pilgrimage,  together  unravel 
the  mysteries  of  their  afflictions  below,  and  deriving 
from  the  review  ever  fresh  reasons  for  gratitude  shall 
blend  their  praises  at  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb. 


172  Sermons 


THE  DYING  CORN  OF  WHEAT  AND 
ITS  GLORIOUS  HARVEST 

John  xii,  24:  ''''Verily^  verily  I  say  unto  you^  Except  a 
corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
alone;  hut  if  it  die,  it  hringeth  forth  much  fruitP 

The  words  of  the  text  were  occasioned  by  an  appli- 
cation of  certain  Greeks,  who  were  in  attendance  upon 
one  of  the  feasts,  to  be  allowed  an  interview  with  Jesus. 
Knowing  that  He  was  approaching  His  last  passion, 
our  Savior  replied  by  stating  the  necessity  of  His 
death  to  the  attainment  of  the  grand  results  of  redemp- 
tion, and  the  painful  conditions  of  that  service  which 
these  applicants  seemed  disposed  to  render  Him.  His 
response  contained  the  enunciation  of  a  great  and  uni- 
versal law  in  this  world  of  sin — the  law  that  sorrow  is 
in  order  to  joy,  and  death  in  order  to  life. 

Its  statement  is  in  the  form  of  an  analogous  law  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  The  grain  of  wheat  which  we 
deposit  in  the  ground  does  not  spring  up  and  bear  the 
stalk,  the  blade,  the  ear,  except  it  first  passes  through 
a  process  of  decay.  To  all  appearance  it  must  die  in 
order  to  live.  All  that  is  merely  accidental  must 
perish,  that  the  vital  and  seminal  principle  may  be  set 
free,  and,  according  to  the  law  of  species,  germinate 
and  develop  itself  into  a  new  and  glorious  form  of  life. 

Note. — There  is  nothing  to  indicate  the  special  purpose  for  which 
this  sermon  was  prepared.  It  is  written  in  a  very  large  hand,  on 
every  other  line,  and  dated  1865.  As  Dr.  Girardeau  never  preached 
from  manuscript  except  on  special  occasions,  there  was  evidently 
some  particular  reason  for  its  preparation. 


Girardeau  173 

This  is  true  of  all  the  processes  of  nature,  and  it  is 
equally  true  of  our  intellectual,  moral  and  religious 
being.  Sacrifice  and  mortification  must  be  undergone 
in  order  to  the  production  of  the  highest  results  of 
which  our  faculties  are  capable.  Without  this,  as  the 
grain  unburied  and  undecaying  would  abide  alone, 
remaining  in  a  separate  and  unproductive  condition, 
we  would  simply  retain  an  isolated  individuality,  sub- 
sisting only  for  the  present,  and  bringing  forth  no 
fruit  to  the  glory  of  God  or  the  good  of  man. 

This  law  by  which  life  is  attained  through  death  the 
Savior  applies  to  His  own  case  in  view  of  His  ex- 
pected sufferings ;  and  it  is  the  most  illustrious  instance 
of  its  operation  that  has  ever  been  afforded.  It  will 
now  be  considered,  in  its  limited  application  to  the  case 
of  Jesus,  although  it  is  susceptible  of  a  much  wider 
extension. 

There  are  evidently  two  things  suggested  by  the 
words  of  the  text  which  demand  our  attention:  the 
greatness  of  the  sacrifice  made  by  Christ;  and  the 
sublime  and  glorious  results  which  it  enabled  Him  to 
secure. 

I.  It  must  be  obvious  to  every  reflecting  mind  that, 
on  the  supposition  of  the  supreme  deity  of  the  Son  of 
God,  the  sacrifice  which  He  made  when  He  undertook 
to  suffer  and  to  die  for  sinners,  is  of  so  stupendous  a 
nature  that  our  conceptions  of  it  must,  at  best,  be  but 
feeble  and  inadequate.  It  was  one  which  only  God 
could  make,  and  was,  therefore,  godlike  in  its  design 
and  execution.  And  it  is,  perhaps,  not  irreverent  to 
say  that  if  it  be  competent  to  Deity  to  make  a  sacrifice, 
that  of  the  Son  of  God  was  the  greatest  that  divine 
wisdom  could  devise,  or  divine  power  could  achieve. 


174  Sermons 

In  order  to  reach  some  apprehension  of  its  greatness, 
it  will  be  requisite  to  contrast  the  previous  condition  of 
perfect  exaltation,  glory  and  life  which  the  Savior 
enjoyed,  with  that  of  subjection,  shame,  and  death  to 
which  He  bowed  Himself  when  He  undertook  the 
work  of  man's  redemption. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  observed  that  He 
was  possessed  from  eternity  of  absolute  supremacy 
and  universal  dominion.  Before  the  mountains  were 
brought  forth  or  ever  He  made  the  earth  and  the 
world,  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  He  is  God. 
"Being  in  the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  with  God."  "The  brightness  of  His 
Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person, 
He  hath  by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent 
name"  than  all  the  created  intelligences  in  the  uni- 
verse. As  He  is  divine,  His  nature  is  the  ground  of 
moral  distinctions,  and  His  bosom  the  primal  source 
of  law.  Angelic  hierarchies,  thronedoms,  principalities 
and  powers,  minister  in  His  presence.  Worlds  and 
systems  innumerable,  that  "wheel  unshaken  through 
the  void  immense,"  revolve  around  His  throne;  and  as 
they  perform  their  appointed  courses  express,  in  the 
grand  harmony  of  their  movements,  allegiance  to  His 
will.  Wherever  a  holy  creature  exists  amid  all  the 
shining  hosts  of  worlds  His  law  is  acknowledged  and 
His  rule  confessed  to  be  supreme. 

But,  behold  the  wondrous  nature  of  His  sacrifice! 
Thus  invested  with  universal  empire,  the  author  and 
dispenser  of  universal  rule.  He  voluntarily  lays  out  of 
His  hands  the  rod  of  dominion,  and  subjects  Himself 
to  the  authority  of  that  law  which  was  issued  and 
administered  by  Himself.  Instead  of  the  aspect  of  a 
lawgiver  and  a  sovereign,  He  assumes  that  of  a  subject 


Girardeau  175 

and  a  servant,  He  made  Himself  of  no  reputation, 
and  took  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men;  and  being  found  in 
fashion  as  a  man.  He  humbled  Himself  and  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 
Born  of  a  woman  and  made  under  the  law,  the  sceptre 
which  His  own  hands  had  wielded  descended  upon 
Himself;  the  lightnings  which  had  flashed  from  His 
throne  blazed  around  His  own  soul ;  and  the  thunder  of 
His  own  awful  mandate  against  transgressors  sends 
Him  a  re^Duted  culprit  to  imprisonment,  scourging  and 
death. 

Another  feature  in  the  extraordinary  sacrifice 
made  by  the  Son  of  God  was  His  relinquishment  of 
glor}'',  and  His  assumption  of  inexpressible  shame.  His 
glory  was  eternally  divine.  Whatever  of  homage,  ado- 
ration and  praise  were  rendered  to  Deity  were  paid  to 
Him.  He  inhabiteth  the  praises  of  eternity.  The 
sublime  worship  of  heavenly  hosts  was  incessantly 
poured  out  as  a  tribute  at  His  feet.  The  exalted  facul- 
ties of  sinless  intelligences  were  employed  in  His  service, 
and  the  choicest  and  most  magnificent  offerings  which 
their  powers  could  furnish,  or  their  love  could  suggest, 
were  lavished  in  His  presence.  The  rapturous  chants 
of  angelic  choirs,  and  the  choral  songs  of  the  morning 
stars,  rehearsed  His  infinite  j)erfections,  the  glory  of 
His  deeds  and  the  praises  of  His  name.  Countless 
worlds  of  light  reflected  the  radiance  of  His  face,  and 
suns  and  stars  shone  with  a  lustre  which  they  borrowed 
from  His  throne. 

This  glory  the  Son  of  God  consented  to  veil  when 
He  humiliated  Himself  and  became  incarnate  that  He 
might  die  for  men.  His  intrinsic  or  essential  glory, 
that  is,  the  glory  which  attends  His  own  contemplation 


176  Sermons 

of  His  being  and  character  as  God,  can  suffer  no 
change;  but  his  extrinsic  or  declarative  glor}^,  that  is, 
the  effulgent  manifestation  of  His  perfections,  the 
reflection  of  His  beauty  and  the  celebration  of  His 
praises  by  the  universe  of  creatures, — this  was  mys- 
teriously eclipsed  and  suspended  by  His  incarnation, 
by  the  wonderful  connection  of  the  divine  nature  with 
the  human  in  a  common  relation  to  the  personality  of 
the  great  Mediator.  It  may  be  difficult,  although  the 
fact  be  a  revealed  one,  to  apprehend  how  the  declara- 
tive glory  of  the  Son  of  God  should  be  held  in  abey- 
ance considered  as  divine,  for  it  would  seem  to  have 
involved  an  arrest  for  a  time  of  the  praises  rendered  to 
Him  as  God;  but  there  is  a  glory  which  the  Scriptures 
clearly  teach  us  was  temporarily  sacrificed  through  the 
incarnation  and  death  of  Christ.  This  was  the  Media- 
torial glory. 

As  eternally  designated  to  the  execution  of  the 
scheme  of  redemption — the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world.  He  possessed  a  glory  which  was 
peculiar  to  Him  in  the  capacity  of  Mediator.  This  He 
laid  aside  when  He  assumed  our  nature  and  underwent 
our  sufferings ;  and  He  resumed  it  only  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  His  mediatorial  work  on  earth,  and  His 
triumphal  ascension  into  heaven.  The  Avorship  paid 
Him  by  celestial  armies,  the  honors  rendered  Him  by 
the  universe  of  holy  creatures,  and  the  radiant  exhi- 
bition of  His  glories  the  incarnate  Kedeemer  sacrificed 
for  shame,  reproach,  and  contempt.  He  was  born  in 
a  low  estate  and  cradled  in  the  lap  of  poverty;  was 
calumniated  as  one  in  league  with  devils  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  most  extraordinary  and  beneficent 
miracles;  was  "\'ilified  as  a  glutton  and  a  wine-bibber; 
was  misrepresented  as  a  rebel  and  an  insurgent  against 


Girardeau  177 

lawful  authority;  was  arrested  as  a  common  male- 
factor; was  excommunicated  from  His  own  visible 
church  by  the  officers  who  derived  from  Him  their 
right  to  rule;  was  beaten  at  the  common  whipping- 
post of  culprits ;  was  struck  in  the  face  and  spitted  on 
by  the  rabble  soldiery  of  a  foreign  government;  and, 
finally,  the  song  of  drunkards  and  the  by-word  of 
scoffers,  was  under  guard  led  out,  attended  by  an  in- 
sulting mob,  to  execution,  and  amidst  taunts  and  jests 
was  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree  in  company  with  thieves 
— a  spectacle  in  death  to  devils  and  to  men. 

It  ought  to  be  remembered,  further,  in  estimating 
the  greatness  of  this  sacrifice,  that  the  Lord  of  life 
consented  to  become  obedient  to  death,  and  to  expe- 
rience it  in  its  most  cruel  and  ignominious  form.  "All 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  not 
anything  made  that  was  made.  In  Him  was  life ;  and 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  "By  Him  w^ere  all 
things  created  that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth, 
visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones  or 
dominions  or  principalities  or  powers:  all  things  were 
created  by  Him  and  for  Him;  and  He  is  before  all 
things,  and  by  Him  all  things  consist."  Containing  in 
Himself  the  fountain  of  being,  He  giveth  to  all  life 
and  breath  and  all  things.  His  wonderful  providence, 
as  by  a  perpetual  miracle,  vitalizes  all  the  processes 
of  nature  and  conserves  in  existence  organisms  which 
would  otherwise  sink  into  their  original  nothingness, 
or  into  masses  of  inert  and  dissolving  matter.  All 
creatures  derive  from  His  inspiration  the  beginnings 
of  live,  and  from  His  hand  the  bounty  of  continued 
existence. 

Incarnated  in  the  form  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  His 
touch  communicated  healinoj  to  the  sick,  and  His  word 


178  Sermons 

startled  the  dead  from  their  graves.  And  yet  He  con- 
sented Himself  to  die.  The  author  and  prince  of  life, 
invested  with  supreme  dominion  over  the  realm  of 
Death,  He  passed  under  the  yoke  of  the  monarch 
whose  palace  is  the  tomb,  bows  His  head  in  token  of 
allegiance  to  his  authority,  and  descends  at  his  com- 
mand into  the  prison  of  the  grave.  The  Giver  of  life, 
He  succumbs  to  the  extinguisher  of  it,  and  the  very 
principle  of  being  appears  to  submit  to  the  stroke  of 
death. 

There  is  something,  moreover,  extremely  affecting 
in  the  consideration  that  the  sinless  Savior  consented 
to  the  sacrifice  of  His  reputation  for  integrity.  The 
only  perfect  specimen  of  humanity  that  the  world, 
since  the  fall,  had  known.  He  merited  singular  honors 
from  His  fellow  men.  If  the  respect,  the  admiration, 
and  the  love  of  mankind  could  have  been  challenged 
by  uprightness  the  most  unblemished,  beneficence  the 
most  tender,  philanthropy  the  most  untiring,  charity 
the  most  unselfish,  and  virtue  the  most  unsullied, — they 
were  due  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

In  place  of  them  He  meets  misrepresentation,  slander 
and  abuse.  Conscious  of  perfect  rectitude,  of  immacu- 
late holiness.  He  sacrificed  His  right  to  vindicate  Him- 
self; and  when  He  stood  before  His  accusers  falsified 
and  maligned.  He  answered  nothing,  but  consented  to 
be  treated  as  an  offender  against  God  and  a  culprit 
before  men.  He  suffered  Himself  to  be  convicted  by  a 
criminal  process,  and  as  a  condemned  criminal  went 
out  to  execution  to  expiate  His  reputed  crimes  by  a 
judicial  death.  There  is,  if  I  mistake  not,  one  most 
touching  instance  in  which  He  appeared  to  offer  a 
protest  against  the  injury  to  which  His  personal  char- 
acter was  subjected.     It  occurred  during  His  agony 


Girardeau  179 

on  the  cross.  Persecuted  by  His  foes,  deserted  by  His 
friends,  and  now  assailed  by  the  heartless  jeers  of 
those  who  would  not  let  Him  die  in  peace.  He  turns, 
with  a  most  pathetic  appeal  to  His  God,  in  which  He 
seems  to  assert  His  conscious  integrity,  while  enduring 
for  others  a  mingled  tempest  of  human  malice  and 
divine  wrath,  which  was  beating  Him  downwards  to 
hell.  The  loftiest,  purest,  noblest  spirit  that  had  ever 
graced  and  dignified  a  polluted  world  by  its  presence, 
the  ornament  and  glory  of  human  nature.  He  was 
treated  as  the  meanest,  the  lowest,  the  most  despicable 
of  slaves,  and  was  regarded  by  His  own  countrymen  as 
justly  doomed  to  the  disgraceful  end  of  a  felon.  O 
deed  of  indescribable  wickedness !  His  native  soil, 
which  received  His  dripping  blood,  blushed  in  crimson, 
and  the  face  of  nature  blackened  into  a  frown  of  in- 
dignation. Wonder  of  wonders !  Earth  spewed  Him 
out  of  her  mouth,  and  no  vindication  is  granted  Him 
from  heaven. 

The  dreadful  mystery  is  solved,  and  His  sacrifice  is 
seen  to  rise  to  its  sublimest  proportions  when  it  is  per- 
ceived that  He  voluntarily  assumed  the  guilt  of  men  in 
order  that  being  adjudged  in  law  to  be  a  sinner.  He 
might  undergo  their  penal  sufferings  and  be  made  a 
curse  for  them.  He  whose  nature  is  holiness  itself,  in 
whose  presence  the  very  heavens  are  not  clean,  and  in 
whose  sight  the  least  sin  is  an  utter  abomination,  allies 
Himself  to  humanity,  and  in  His  mediatorial  person 
takes  upon  Himself  the  accumulated  guilt  of  His  peo- 
ple. That  He  should  have  consented  to  bring  His 
spotless  sanctity  into  such  connection  with  human  sins 
as  to  render  it  proper  that  He  should  be  judicially 
treated  as  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  to  die  under  the 
imputation  of  the  most  fearful  guilt,  amidst  a  storm 


180  Sermons 

of  opprobrium,  hate  and  scorn, — is  an  instance  of  self- 
sacrifice  Avhich  astonishes  the  universe,  and  is  witnessed 
with  indifference  by  man  alone.  What  a  strange  and 
marvellous  spectacle  it  exhibited  is  the  cross  of  the 
dying  sufferer !  What  affecting  contrasts  are  pre- 
sented by  the  amazing  scene!  What  do  we  behold? 
Instead  of  the  diadem  of  universal  empire,  a  crown  of 
thorns  upon  His  head ;  instead  of  the  sceptre  of  limit- 
less dominion,  His  hands  nailed  to  the  tree;  instead 
of  the  countenance  whose  brightness  abashes  adoring 
Seraphim,  a  visage  disfigured  with  spittle  and  clotted 
with  gore;  instead  of  the  smile  in  which  angels  find 
their  bliss,  the  pallor  and  the  tears  of  an  unutterable 
anguish;  instead  of  the  rising  hallelujahs  of  heavenly 
hosts  and  the  songs  of  the  morning  stars,  the  hooting 
clamor  of  a  human  multitude  who  comment  upon  His 
execution  as  that  of  a  criminal,  and  with  mingled  abuse 
and  jibe  make  sport  of  His  dying  throes. 

In  the  person  of  the  bleeding  victim  on  the  cross 
we  see  supreme  authority  beaten  down  under  law, 
infinite  glory  eclipsed  by  shame,  stainless  holiness 
pressed  down  under  guilt,  and  the  Lord  of  Life 
trampled  into  the  dust  under  the  victorious  heel  of 
Death.  Is  it  any  wonder  that,  in  the  absence  of  human 
sympathy,  the  frame  of  nature  should  be  thrilled  to  its 
centre,  and  display  the  ensigns  of  a  universal  grief? 
The  heavens  are  clothed  with  blackness,  the  sun 
refuses  to  shine,  the  stars  of  the  firmament  burn  with 
the  sickly  hue  of  funereal  lamps,  the  adamantine  rocks 
are  rent,  and  the  inanimate  earth  trembles  as  in  a 
paroxysm  of  terror  at  the  death  of  her  God. 

The  awful  tragedy  closes,  the  sacrifice  is  completed. 
The  corpse  of  Jesus  is  taken  from  the  cross  and  de- 
posited in  the  tomb,  and  the  hope  of  the  church  and 


Girardeau  181 

the  world  appears  to  lie  down  beside  it.  The  light  of 
life  seems  to  be  extinguished  in  the  gloom  of  His 
sepulchre.  His  disciples  are  smitten  with  inconsolable 
grief;  their  expectations  are  blasted,  and  all  seems  to 
be  lost.  The  "corn  of  wheat"  has  fallen  into  the 
ground  and  died ;  but  it  did  not  abide  alone. 

It  brought  forth  much  fruit.  A  dead  Jesus  is  still 
the  representative  of  His  people's  salvation.  His 
sepulchre  is  an  object  of  intensest  interest.  Angels 
watched  it  in  hope,  and  devils  and  men  in  dread,  that 
it  might  be  opened  again.  The  dawn  of  the  third  day 
begins  to  break, — and  it  is  the  dawn  of  a  new  and 
glorious  hope  for  a  sinful  world, — the  sleeping  Saviour 
arises,  bursts  the  fetters  of  the  grave,  unbars  the  gates 
of  death,  and  comes  forth  proclaiming:  "I  am  He 
that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for- 
evermore:  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death." 
The  powers  of  darkness  shrink  awe-struck  from  the 
presence  of  the  rising  conqueror.  Earth,  inspired 
with  a  joy  it  never  since  creation  knew,  sings  her  resur- 
rection anthem;  and  heaven,  from  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  tongues,  pours  through  the  portals  of  the 
sky  her  answering  tide  of  rapturous  and  triumphant 
song. 

II.  Let  us  now  inquire  what  are  some  of  the  rich  and 
glorious  fruits  which  Jesus  secured  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself? 

The  first  great  effect  of  His  sacrifice  which  will 
be  noticed  is  the  personal  exaltation  and  glory  which 
He  won  for  Himself.  Having  successfully  closed  His 
conflict  with  sin,  death,  and  hell.  He  prepares  to  assume 
His  glorious  reward.  Spoiling  principalities  and 
powers  by  His  cross.  He  makes  a  show  of  them  openly. 
Collecting  around  Himself  the  trophies  of  His  victory, 


182     •  Sermons 

He  rises  from  earth  leading  captivity  captive,  and  is 
attended  by  ten  thousand  of  His  holy  ones  in  His 
triumphant  passage  to  heaven.  When  the  patriot  and 
the  hero,  who  has  finished  the  battles  of  his  country 
and  achieved  a  conquest  over  her  foes,  returns  to  his 
home,  a  grateful  people  pour  forth  to  greet  him,  and 
the  air  is  rent  with  resounding  plaudits.  It  is  not 
extravagant  to  suppose  that,  when  the  victorious  Re- 
deemer, after  the  sufferings  and  labors  of  His  mortal 
life,  the  passion  of  Gethsemane  and  the  tragedy  of  the 
cross,  ascended  to  heaven,  angels  and  justified  spirits 
prepared  to  welcome  His  return  to  the  skies.  The  bat- 
tlements of  the  celestial  city  on  this  glorious  occasion 
are  thronged  with  expectant  thousands.  They  catch 
from  afar  the  anthem  of  the  triumphal  procession  that 
sweeps  upward  through  the  shining  orbs  of  space: 
"Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up, 
ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come 
in!"  "Who,"  is  the  thundering  challenge  from  the 
heavenly  walls.  "Who  is  this  King  of  glory?"  And 
again,  as  the  head  of  the  ascending  column  flashes  into 
light,  the  mighty  refrain  as  the  sound  of  many  waters 
breaks  forth :  "The  Lord,  the  Lord  strong  and  mighty, 
the  Lord  mighty  in  battle.  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates,  even  lift  them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the 
King  of  glory  shall  come  in !" 

The  massy  portals  are  unfurled  for  the  reception  of 
Him  who  is  at  once  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  and  the 
victor  over  Satan,  sin  and  death.  The  splendid  retinue 
attend  Him  through  the  golden  streets  and  conduct 
Him  to  His  resplendent  throne.  Crowned  with  honor, 
and  taking  his  seat  amidst  the  shouts  of  thousands  and 
the  music  of  innumerable  harps.  He  receives  the  pros- 
trate worship  of  myriads,  ascribing  to  Him  glory  and 


Girardeau  183 

honor,  and  jiower  and  might  and  dominion,  and  wis- 
dom, thanksgiving  and  blessing. 

The  great  Mediator  has,  moreover,  won  for  Himself 
that  peculiar  and  ineffable  love  of  the  Father  which 
results  from  His  cheerful  sacrifice  of  Himself  in  obe- 
dience to  that  Father's  will.  "Therefore,"  says  the 
Savior  in  His  beautiful  and  pathetic  discourse  on  His 
pastoral  office,  "therefore  doth  my  Father  love  Me 
because  I  lay  down  my  life  that  I  might  take  it  again." 
Called  of  His  Father  to  undertake  the  transcendent 
work  of  redemption,  He  cordially  responded  to  the 
vocation,  although  He  knew  its  acceptance  required 
that  he  should  waive  His  claim  to  equality  in  the  God- 
head, and  subject  Himself,  with  the  unquestioning 
docility  of  a  servant,  to  His  Father's  commands; 
although  He  knew  that  in  fulfilling  the  conditions 
imposed  upon  Him,  He  must  sacrifice  His  glory  to 
shame.  His  honor  to  reproach,  and  His  life  to  death. 
And  now  that  having  discharged  to  the  letter  all  the 
requirements  of  filial  obedience,  and  from  shame, 
agony,  and  the  grave  He  returns  to  resume  His  glory, 
the  Father  receives  Him  with  peculiar  honors,  and 
delights  to  lavish  upon  His  Mediatorial  Son  the  tender 
and  exhaustless  love  of  a  paternal  heart. 

In  consequence,  too,  of  the  extraordinary  humilia- 
tion to  which  the  Mediator  had  subjected  Himself  in 
obedience  to  His  will  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
mediatorial  engagements,  the  Father  highly  exalts 
Him,  confers  on  Him  a  name  which  is  above  every 
name,  invests  Him  with  supreme  dominion,  and  sum- 
mons the  powers  of  heaven,  earth  and  hell  to  bow  the 
knee  to  Him,  and  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 


184  Sermons 

In  the  next  place,  the  sacrifice  of  Himself  made 
by  Christ  effected  a  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the 
divine  perfections  which  is  secured  by  no  other  means. 
The  sublime  frame  of  the  heavens,  the  wonderful  fabric 
of  the  earth,  the  exquisite  structure  of  our  bodily 
organisms,  and  the  still  nobler  constitution  of  our 
minds  proclaim  the  power,  the  wisdom,  the  greatness, 
and  the  majesty  of  their  Almighty  Maker.  The  scheme 
of  law  illustrates  His  justice.  His  truth,  and  His  holi- 
ness. The  grand  system  of  providence  does  all  this — 
it  imparts  the  lessons  which  physical  nature  and  the 
moral  law  communicate  in  regard  to  the  divine  per- 
fections, and  it  adds  to  them  some  intimations  of  the 
goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Supreme  Ruler.  There  is, 
for  example,  in  some  of  its  arrangements,  a  hint  of  the 
great  principle  of  mediation  as  an  element  in  the  moral 
government  of  God ;  and,  in  the  suspension  of  the  exe- 
cution of  judgment  upon  transgressors,  and  the  be- 
stowal of  natural  blessings  upon  the  wicked  and  ill- 
deserving,  it  appears  to  reveal  something  of  grace  and 
mercy.  These  facts  must  be  admitted,  for  they  are 
open  to  observation.  And  yet,  I  confess,  there  is  to  my 
mind  a  doubt  whether  these  hints  of  a  mediatorial  prin- 
ciple, and  these  indications  of  the  merciful  disposition 
of  God  towards  sinners,  would  have  an}'  existence  at 
all,  were  not  the  system  of  providence  affected  by  the 
arrangements  of  the  scheme  of  grace,  and  all  the  divine 
acts  towards  our  guilty  race  influenced  by  a  reference 
to  the  mediation  of  Christ.  If  so,  it  is  not  natural 
providence,  as  such,  that  discloses  the  mercy  of  God 
towards  sinners,  but  those  elements  of  the  scheme  of 
redemption  which  are  either  actually  incorporated  into 
it,  or  exercise  a  modifying  influence  upon  it.  But,  be 
this  as  it  may,  the  cross  of  Christ  more  powerfully  than 


Girardeau  185 

the  systems  of  nature,  law  and  providence  proclaims 
the  divine  perfections  which  it  is  their  undoubted  office 
to  reveal,  and  it  does  infinitely  more, — it  manifests 
those  attributes  which  contemplate  the  pardon  of  .the 
guilty  and  the  eternal  salvation  of  the  lost. 

The  vicarious  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  a  being 
of  infinite  dignity,  in  the  room  of  the  sinner,  sheds 
conspicuous  and  peculiar  lustre  upon  the  government 
of  God,  abundantly  satisfies  the  demands  and  magni- 
fies the  authority  of  the  divine  law,  reconciles  the  inde- 
structible principle  of  the  inseparable  connection 
between  guilt  and  punishment  with  the  pardon  of  the 
transgressor,  and  harmonizes  the  apparently  conflict- 
ing claims  of  infinite  mercy  and  infinite  truth,  of  in- 
finite justice  and  infinite  grace.  "Mercy  and  truth  are 
met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each 
other,"  at  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  And  meeting  the 
guilty  and  despairing  sinner  at  that  cross,  the  great 
God  shows  him  His  glory,  reveals  His  glorious  name, 
and  proclaims  Himself  "the  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merci- 
ful and  gracious,  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth, 
forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin,"  though  He 
"will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." 

Were  it  not  for  the  death  of  Jesus  we  could  never, 
as  sinners,  have  experimentally  loiown  anything  of  the 
love,  the  mercy  and  the  grace  of  God,  as  they  are 
eternal  and  glorious  perfections  of  His  nature,  or  as 
they  are  the  sources  of  hope  and  salvation  to  ourselves. 
The  highest  manifestation  of  the  perfections  of  God 
as  contributing  to  the  glory  of  His  name,  and  the 
saving  knowledge  of  them  by  ruined  sinners  as  neces- 
sary to  their  everlasting  felicity,  is  among  the  rich  and 
glorious  fruits  which  Jesus  secured  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself. 


186  Sermons 

Another  result  acquired  by  the  death  of  Christ 
was  the  reconciliation  of  heaven  and  earth.  The  inhab- 
itants of  this  world,  as  rebels  against  the  divine  gov- 
ernment, were  necessarily  cut  off  by  their  revolt  from 
the  sympathy  and  fellowship  of  angels.  The  act  which 
severed  their  connection  with  their  God  sundered  the 
bonds  which  allied  them  to  the  angelic  world.  As  long 
as  they  continued  in  a  common  service  to  Him,  angels 
and  men  might  take  sweet  counsel  together,  and  mingle 
their  worship  in  the  same  sanctuary  as  brethren  and 
friends.  The  inexcusable  rebellion  of  men  alienated 
the  regard  of  those  unfallen  and  loyal  spirits,  and 
opened  a  chasm  which  forbade  the  interchange  of 
kindly  offices  and  the  culture  of  a  fraternal  communion. 
The  death  of  Jesus  breaks  down  the  middle  wall  of 
partition  between  them;  His  blood  reconciles  them 
again;  and,  on  the  mystical  ladder  of  His  mediation 
which  rests  on  earth  and  reaches  to  heaven,  angels 
come  down  once  more  in  ministrations  of  love  to  men. 
Heaven  reaches  down  its  hands  to  earth,  and  earth  is 
raised  to  heaven.  The  incarnate  substitute  of  sinners, 
and  in  some  sort  representative  of  the  elect  angels, 
gathers  them  into  the  same  glorious  church  and  reca- 
pitulates them  under  the  same  mediatorial  headship. 
Equally  indebted  to  Jesus  for  the  grace  which  enables 
them  to  stand,  and  secures  their  happiness  against 
future  contingency,  and  forgetting  their  past  estrange- 
ment in  the  common  love  they  bear  to  Him,  they  shall 
sit  together  in  affectionate  intercourse  around  His 
glorified  person,  and  blend  in  sweet  accord  their  ever- 
lasting praises  to  His  name. 

"According  to  the  working  of  His  mighty  power 
which  He  wrought  in  Christ,"  says  Paul  sublimely  in 
Ephesians,  God  "raised  Him  from  the  dead,  and  set 


Girardeau  187 

Him  at  His  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places, 
far  above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and 
dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come ;  and  hath 
put  all  things  under  His  feet,  and  gave  Him  to  be 
head  over  all  things  to  the  church,  which  is  His  body, 
the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  And  speak- 
ing in  the  same  exalted  strain  in  Colossians  he  says, 
"For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  should  all  ful- 
ness dwell;  and  having  made  peace  through  the  blood 
of  His  cross,  by  Him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  Himself; 
by  Him,  I  say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or 
things  in  heaven."  These  inspired  utterances  have  a 
profound  significance  and  a  majestic  sweep.  They 
indicate  the  fact  that  the  merits  of  Christ's  atoning 
death  are  not  confined  in  their  effect  to  the  salvation 
of  human  sinners,  but  reach  upwards  through  the  scale 
of  unfallen  creatures,  and  broaden  out  in  their  con- 
servative and  confirming  influence  upon  the  universe 
of  sinless  being.  It  is  certain  that  they  extend  to 
angels.  And  if,  as  a  great  theologian  thinks,  by  angels 
the  Scriptures  signify  all  non-human  ranks  and  orders 
of  intelligent  spirits,  it  would  appear  that  the  cross 
of  Jesus  is  stamped  upon  every  unrevolted  world  in 
the  universal  system.  The  case  of  devils  and  lost 
human  beings  may  be  singular,  their  prison-house  the 
only  jail  in  the  universe,  and  the  innumerable  popula- 
tions of  loyal  subjects  of  God's  illimitable  government 
be  secured  in  holiness  and  bliss  by  the  merit  of  Jesus' 
death. 

Inconceivably  great  as  this  result  may  be  considered, 
it  is  not  too  great  to  have  been  achieved  by  the  blood 
that  was  shed  on  Calvary.  The  obedience  to  the  divine 
law,  which  culminated  in  the  pouring  out  of  that  pre- 


188  Sermons 

cious  blood,  was  absolutely  exhaustive,  and  capable  of 
comprehending  in  its  merit  every  interest  of  every 
world.  The  immutable  foundation  of  creatur^y  hap- 
piness will  not  rest  upon  creaturely  virtue,  but  upon 
the  righteousness  of  Christ.  What  a  glorious  fruit  of 
the  sacrifice  of  Jesus!  What  a  wonderful  harvest 
springing  from  the  corn  of  wheat  which  fell  into  the 
ground  on  Calvary !  It  will  shake,  not  alone  like 
Lebanon  tossed  by  mountain  storms ;  it  will  shake  like 
the  congregation  of  rolling  worlds  swept  by  the 
tempests  of  universal  and  unending  praise.  ''And  I 
beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round 
about  the  throne  and  the  living  creatures  and  the 
elders:  and  the  number  of  them  was  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands;  say- 
ing with  a  loud  voice,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
strength,  and  honor,  and  glory  and  blessing.  And 
every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and 
all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I,  saying,  Blessing,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever." 

It  must  be  added,  in  conclusion,  that  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself  by  the  great  Redeemer  secures  the  eternal 
salvation  of  millions  of  our  race.  His  death  was  neces- 
sary to  the  attainment  of  this  result.  Without  it  the 
race  must  have  sunk  into  despair  and  perished  in  their 
sins.  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven 
against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men; 
and  as  all  are  ungodly  and  unrighteous,  all  are  sub- 
jected to  wrath  and  liable  to  perish.  Guilt  is  linked  to 
punishment  by  the  inexorable  requirements  of  infinite 
justice  and  truth,  and  the  irreversible  penalty  of  an 


Girardeau  *  189 

eternal  law.  The  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth,  for  therein  is  the 
righteousness  of  God  revealed  from  faith  to  faith;  as 
it  is  written,  the  just  shall  live  by  faith.  The  atone- 
ment of  Christ  alone  removes  the  difficulties  which 
oppose  the  salvation  of  sinners.  It  alone  renders  salva- 
tion possible  by  making  it  consistent  with  the  perfec- 
tions of  His  nature  that  God  should  pardon  the  guilty 
and  admit  them  to  His  favor.  The  vicarious  obedience 
of  the  Savior,  deriving  an  infinite  value  from  the 
infinite  dignity  of  His  person,  satisfies  the  demands  of 
justice,  truth  and  law.  He  obeys,  He  suffers.  He  dies, 
as  the  substitute  of  sinners;  and  they,  who  by  faith 
receive  His  j)erfect  righteousness  and  rest  upon  it 
alone,  are  in  Him  absolved  from  guilt  and  invested 
with  a  title  to  eternal  life.  Nor  does  the  saving  office 
of  Jesus  stop  here.  It  was  necessary  that,  u]3on  the 
completion  of  His  mediatorial  work  on  earth  and  His 
appearance  in  the  heavens,  He  should  have  somewhat 
to  offer.  He  must  not  present  Himself  in  the  holiest 
of  all  without  blood.  Accordingly,  having  as  the 
merciful  and  faithful  high  priest  of  His  people  freely 
sacrificed  Himself  for  them.  He  presents  Himself  in 
the  heavenly  sanctuary  with  His  own  most  precious 
blood.  Entering  into  the  presence  of  His  Father  in 
the  holy  of  holies,  and  pressing  His  sacerdotal  pleas, 
enforced  by  the  affecting  memorials  of  His  great  sacri- 
fice. He  obtains  the  promised  Spirit  of  grace,  and  from 
His  mediatorial  throne  He  sends  forth  to  apply  the 
benefits  of  His  death  to  His  people,  and  to  gather  them 
to  Himself,  their  federal  head,  representative  and 
Savior,  from  every  kindred,  tribe  and  tongue  of  earth. 
Relying  by  faith  upon  the  atoning  death  of  Jesus, 
whether  as  a  future  or  as  a  past  reality,  sinners  have 


190  Sermons 

been  saved  in  every  age.     We  have  reason  to  believe 
that    our    first    parents   experienced    rest    from   their 
tremendous  guilt  and  relief  from  their  gigantic  afflic- 
tion   by    reposing    on    the   bosom   of    the    first   great 
promise;   and,  parallel  with  the  development  of  the 
grand  dispensations  of  the  Covenant  of  Redemption,  a 
growing  multitude   of  believers  have  marched,   each 
clime  and  country,  like  the  tributary  streams  which 
swell  the  mighty  river,  contributing  its  numbers  to 
augment  the  thickening  host.     They  go  from  strength 
to  strength  until  each  one  appears  in  Zion  before  God. 
An  innumerable  congregation  of  disembodied  spirits, 
washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  redeemed  from 
bondage  to  Satan,  sin  and  death,  are  already  gathered 
to  glory  and  throng  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.    The  wise 
and  the  unwise,  the  Jew  and  the  Gentile,  Barbarians, 
Scythians,  bond  and  free,  are  collected  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,  speak  the  one  dialect  of  heaven,  and 
mingle  their  M'orship  before  the  throne.    And  myriads 
more  shall  be  brought  in.     They  shall  come  from  the 
east  and  the  west,  the  north  and  the  south,  and  shall 
sit  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.    Thousands 
yet  unborn,  down  to  the  verge  of  time  and  the  consum- 
mation   of    the    world,    shall    press    upward    to    the 
heavenly  gates.     Every  day  and  every  hour  witnesses 
a   fresh   accession   of   ransomed  spirits  to  the  blood- 
washed  and  triumphant  church.     Wliile  these  words 
are  uttered,  it  is  probable  that  many  a  wearied  soul, 
long  buffeted  by  temptation  and  tormented  by  satanic 
malic'e,  is  bursting  away  from  its  earthly  tenement,  and 
from  the  dying  chamber  and  the  bed  of  death,  and  is 
soaring  as  on  eagles'  wings  to  its  eternal  home.    Denser 
and  broader  grow  the  shining  masses  of  the  celestial 


Girardeau  191 

host,  as  from  every  nation,  people  and  tongue  of  earth 
fresh  numbers  are  gathering,  not  at  the  summons  of 
the  martial  trump,  nor  to  the  strife  of  gory  fields,  but 
at  the  call  of  the  glorified  Savior  and  to  the  peaceful 
rest  of  heaven.  "I  beheld,"  said  the  Seer  of  Patmos, 
"and  lo,  a  great  multitude  which  no  man  could  num- 
ber, of  all  nations  and  kindreds  and  peoples  and 
tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands: 
and  cried,  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Salvation  to  our 
God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb. 
.  .  .  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto 
me,  \^^iat  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes? 
and  whence  came  they?  And  he  said  unto  me,  These 
are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb." 

Brethren,  this  is  philanthropy,  noble,  sublime,  god- 
like. To  discharge  one  genuine  office  of  charity,  how- 
ever humble,  to  the  needy,  the  suffering,  the  djnng,  is 
worth  more  than  the  splendid  triumphs  of  wickedness 
though  heralded  by  trumpets  and  applauded  by  thou- 
sands. But  to  purge  unnumbered  millions  of  deathless 
spirits  from  guilt,  to  rescue  them  from  eternal  burn- 
ings, to  lift  them  to  the  holiness,  the  glory  and  the  bliss 
of  heaven,  and  to  accomplish  this  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself,  and  His  own  passage  through  the  fiery 
furnace  of  divine  wrath, — this  is  an  achievement 
which  shall  forever  crown  the  Savior  with  honors,  call 
forth  the  rapturous  praises  of  angels,  and  attract  the 
ineffable  affection,  gratitude  and  homage  of  a  redeemed 
and  glorified  church. 


192  Sermons 

The  corn  of  wheat  has  fallen  into  the  ground  and 
died;  and  the  fruits  of  the  glorious  harvest  springing 
from  it  are  the  supreme  exaltation  of  the  sufferer,  the 
highest  glory  of  the  divine  perfections,  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  eternal  salvation  of  a 
countless  seed. 


Girardeau  193 

THE  GLORIOUS  GOSPEL  OF  THE 
BLESSED  GOD 

1  Timothy,  i :  11.  '''The  glorious  Gospel  of  the  hlessed 
God^  which  was  committed  to  my  tmstP 

It  has  been  frequently  observed  that  man  is  essen- 
tially a  religious  being.  At  no  time,  and  in  no  place, 
has  he  existed  without  some  notion  of  a  Diety,  and 
some  form  of  worship  by  which  he  has  approached 
Him  and  sought  to  propitiate  His  favor.  An  attentive 
examination  of  the  different  schemes  of  religion  which 
prevail  in  the  world  will  disclose  to  us  the  fact,  that 
they  are  all,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  based  upon 
the  fundamental  principle  of  the  first  religion  com- 
municated to  man — that  of  personal  obedience  to  the 
divine  law,  as  the  ground  of  acceptance  with  God.  For 
although  it  should  be  admitted  that  the  worship  of 
even  Pagan  nations,  conducted,  in  part,  through  sacri- 
fices, evinces  some  acquaintance  with  a  religious  ele- 
ment foreign  to  the  genius  of  natural  religion;  and 
although  it  should  be  confessed  that  this  element  be- 
longs properly  to  the  Gospel,  and  may  have  been 
adopted  by  the  heathen  as  one  of  its  traditionary  frag- 
ments passing  down  from  the  patriarchal  era,  it  must 

Note.- — The  title  page  of  the  pamphlet  that  contains  this  sermon 
is  as  follows :  "Services  on  the  occasion  of  the  Ordination  of  the 
Rev.  P.  P.  Mullally,  and  the  Installation  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Thornwell, 
D.  D.,  and  Rev.  F.  P.  Mullally,  as  Co-Pastors  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Columbia,  S.  C.  Sermon  by  Rev.  John  L.  Girardeau. 
Charges,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.  May  4th,  1860.  Published 
by  the  Congregation.  Columbia,  S.  C.  Steam-Press  of  Robert  M. 
Stokes.     1860." 


194  Sermons 

still  be  acknowledged  that,  in  their  case,  even  the  offer- 
ing of  sacrifices  is  part  of  a  system  which  proceeds  on 
the  principle  of  personal  obedience,  and  supposes  the 
acquisition  of  reward  in  consequence  of  the  services  of 
the  worshipper.  Whatever  may  be  the  material  aspect 
of  certain  elements  in  the  religious  systems  of  mankind, 
the  principle  in  which  they  are  founded,  and  by  which 
they  are  characterized,  is  that  which  has  now  been 
attributed  to  them.  They  may  be  said,  therefore,  to 
be  corruptions  of  the  original  scheme  of  natural  reli- 
gion. There  is  one  system,  however,  which  is  grounded 
in  a  principle  radically  and  completely  different — a 
system  denominated  by  the  apostle  in  the  text,  "the 
glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God."  Coeval  with  the 
fall,  it  was  originally  communicated  to  man  in  the 
form  of  a  promise,  administered  during  the  patriarchal 
era  through  the  medium  of  sacrifices,  more  clearly 
imparted  through  the  elaborate  ritual  and  the  pro- 
phetical instructions  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and, 
finally,  "spoken  by  the  Lord  Himself,"  and  fulfilled  in 
His  life,  death,  and  resurrection,  it  "was  confirmed  to 
us  by  them  that  heard  Him,  God,  also,  bearing  them 
witness,  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers 
miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  His 
own  will."  This  Gospel,  coming  down  to  us  through 
the  ages  marked  by  distinctive  peculiarities,  maintain- 
ing a  position  wholly  individual  and  singular,  and 
refusing  to  coalesce  with  the  religions  by  which  it  has 
ever  been  encompassed — this  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  in  opposition  to  all  other  schemes  of  faith,  we 
embrace  as  that  from  which  we  derive  our  consolations 
in  time  and  our  hopes  for  eternity.  We  accept  it  as  the 
only  authoritative  communication  of  God's  will  to 
sinful  man — rest  upon  it  as  the  divine  testimony  in 


Girardeau  195 

regard  to  our  most  precious  interests,  and  not  reluc- 
tantly stake  upon  the  truth  of  it  our  everlasting  des- 
tinies. Exclusive  and  uncompromising  amidst  various 
and  conflicting  forms  of  religion,  and  standing,  as  it 
does,  in  an  attitude  of  solemn  protest  against  them  all, 
it  is  a  question  of  no  mean  interest  to  its  adherents, 
What  is  it  that  peculiarly  characterizes  the  Gospel, 
and  discriminates  it  from  the  original  scheme  of 
natural  religion,  and  the  corruptions  of  that  scheme 
which  may  now  exist  in  the  world  ? 

I.  The  Gospel  is  not  peculiarly  distinguished  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  revealed  religion.  Any  communi- 
cation of  God's  will  in  an  authentic  form  is  a  revela- 
tion of  that  will.  A¥lien  man  first  came  from  the  hand 
of  his  Maker,  he  received  a  moral  nature,  in  the  very 
fabric  of  which  were  inlaid  those  fundamental  beliefs 
which  lie  originally  at  the  basis  of  all  religion.  We 
cannot  suppose  that  God  left  His  creature — the  sub- 
ject of  His  government — destitute  of  an  acquaintance 
with  the  nature  of  his  Creator,  with  the  relations  he 
sustained  to  His  law,  and  with  that  peculiar  religious 
constitution  which  was  involved  in  the  covenant  under 
which  he  stood  as  the  head  and  representative  of  his 
posterity.  It  makes  no  difference,  in  regard  to  the  bare 
fact  of  revelation,  that  those  credentials  which  authen- 
ticate the  Gospel  were  absent  in  the  case  of  man's 
primitive  religion.  For,  apart  from  the  view  that  the 
earliest  communication  of  the  Gospel  itself  was  not 
accompanied  with  these  extraordinary  external  proofs, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  they  would  at  all  be  re- 
quired, were  it  not  for  the  very  material  difference 
between  the  recipients  of  these  respective  revelations 
growing  out  of  the  distinction  betwixt  them  as  holy 
and  sinful  beings.     Nor,  in  reference  to  the  simple 


196  Sermons 

fact  of  revelation,  does  it  make  any  difference  that  the 
particular  modes  by  which  God  imparted  a  knowledge 
of  His  will  in  the  two  cases  were  widely  distinct.  For 
in  one  respect — and  that  a  most  important  one — the 
two  schemes  of  religion  which  we  are  considering  are 
characterized  by  a  common  feature — the  immediacy 
of  the  revelation  from  God  of,  at  least,  some  of  the 
principal  elements  of  which  they  consist.  In  each  case 
God  himself  immediately- and  personally  delivered  a 
communication  of  the  knoAvledge  of  Himself  to  man. 
Under  the  primitive  religion,  Adam,  we  are  informed, 
had  free  access  to  his  God,  who  condescended  to  hold 
personal  intercouse  with  him;  and  it  is  conceded  that 
the  Gospel,  in  its  latest  and  highest  development,  began 
to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself. 

Nor  is  the  Gospel  characteristically  distinguished  by 
the  fact  that  all  the  elements  which  compose  it  are 
peculiarly  and  solely  its  own.  There  are  certain  funda- 
mental truths  incorporated  with  its  matter  which  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  all  religion,  are  essential  to  all 
worship,  and  were,  therefore,  component  parts  of  the 
scheme  of  natural  religion.  Adam,  in  his  primitive 
condition,  was,  doubtless,  acquainted  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  divine  existence,  of  the  trinal  existence  of  God, 
of  his  own  federal  relations,  of  the  immorality  of  the 
soul,  and  of  the  retribution  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments founded  in  the  principle  of  distributive  justice. 
And  were  it  the  distinctive  office  of  the  Gospel  to 
republish,  with  clearer  light,  and  more  commanding 
authority,  these  original  truths  which,  it  is  admitted, 
have  been  obscured,  or  even  comparatively  obliterated, 
in  consequence  of  the  fall,  its  province  would  simply 
consist  in  the  restoration  and  re-establishment  of  a 
system  of  religion  which,  in  itself  considered,  could 


Girardeau  197 

afford  no  shadow  of  relief  to  the  miseries  of  man,  as 
a  sinner  against  God.  The  republication  and  author- 
itative enforcement  of  these  great  articles  of  religious 
belief  is  an  important,  but  subordinate"  part,  of  the 
office  of  that  scheme  which  the  apostle  designates  as 
"the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God."  My  brethren, 
it  does  infinitely  more  than  this.  The  very  first  and 
most  obvious  fact  connected  with  its  character  is,  that 
it  is  a  religion  which  contemplates  man  in  his  fallen, 
sinful,  and  ruined  estate.  It  derives  its  complexion 
from  the  mercy  of  God,  from  the  bosom  of  which  it 
springs,  and  all  its  arrangements,  pervaded  by  this 
aspect,  look  to  the  salvation  of  those  who  are  not  only 
undeserving  of  the  divine  favor,  but  merit  everlasting 
banishment  from  His  presence,  and  the  severest  inflic- 
tions of  His  wrath.  Its  prime  characteristic,  there- 
fore, is,  that  it  is  a  scheme  of  mercy  and  not  of  law ; 
and  in  correspondence  with  this,  its  all-pervading 
feature,  it  proposes  the  accomplishment  of  two  great 
ends  entirely  peculiar  to  itself — the  re-instatement  of 
man,  a  guilty  sinner,  in  the  favor  of  God,  and  the 
restoration  of  man,  a  pardoned  sinner,  to  the  image  of 
God.  The  mode  by  which  it  achieves  these  ends  respec- 
tively is  characteristic  of  itself — the  employment  of  the 
principle  of  substitution  in  order  to  the  justification 
of  the  person  of  the  sinner,  and  the  exertion  of  a  divine 
and  supernatural  influence  upon  his  nature,  in  order 
to  its  renewal  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  holiness. 
The  incarnation,  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  mission,  supernatural  influence  and 
new-creating  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost — all  tending  to 
secure  the  redemption  of  miserable  sinners,  to  the  glory 
of  God's  grace, — these,  I  take  it,  are  the  vital  and 
potential  facts  which  stamp  the  Gospel  with  individu- 


198  Sermons 

ality,  discriminate  it  from  all  other  systems  of  faith, 
and  impart  to  it  those  peculiar  and  distinguishing 
qualities  which  render  it  "the  glorious  Gospel  of  the 
blessed  God." 

Having  thus  briefly  considered  the  nature  of  the 
Gospel,  let  us  pass  on  to  inquire  more  particularly  into 
some  of  the  reasons  which  constitute  it  "the  glorious 
Gospel  of  the  blessed  God,"  or,  as  the  words  of  the  text 
may  be  rendered,  "the  Gospel  of  the  glory  of  the 
blessed  God." 

II.  It  deserves,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  remarked, 
that  there  is  no  other  source  than  the  Gospel  from 
which  we  may  derive  any  satisfactory  information  in 
regard  to  those  attributes  of  the  divine  nature  which 
are  immediately  concerned  in  the  salvation  of  sinners. 
It  is  conceivable  that  it  might  have  pleased  God  from 
eternity  to  have  refrained  from  exercising  His  creative 
power  and  bringing  subordinate  and  dependent  exis- 
tences into  being.  Possessed  of  infinite  resources  of 
happiness,  essentially  and  everlastingly  resident  in 
Himself,  and  of  an  incomprehensible  but  unutterably 
blissful  society,  springing  from  the  personal  relations 
of  the  ever  blessed  Godhead,  He  might  have  remained 
forever  satisfied  with  His  own  intrinsic  glory,  and 
ineffably  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  Himself.  But  it 
has  pleased  Him  to  stretch  forth  His  creating  arm, 
and  to  stud  the  amplitude  of  space  with  hosts  of 
worlds.  It  has  pleased  Him  to  bring  into  being  intel- 
ligent creatures  of  His  power,  and  responsible  subjects 
of  His  moral  government.  It  is,  consequently,  the  office 
of  created  substances,  both  animate  and  inanimate, 
both  material  and  spiritual,  to  make  known  the  glorious 
perfections  of  their  Maker;  and  it  is  clear  that  the 
scheme  or  constitution  which  most  fully  discharges  this 


Girardeau  199 

great  oiiice  brings  the  largest  revenue  of  glory  to  His 
name.  It  is  the  very  essence,  too,  of  the  well-being  of 
intelligent  creatures  that  they  should  know  the  nature 
and  character  of  God;  for  communion  with  Him  is 
the  life  of  the  soul.  "In  Thy  favor  is  life,  and  Thy 
loving  kindness  is  better  than  life."  Now,  when  we 
contemplate  man  in  his  condition  as  a  ruined  sinner, 
it  is  evident  that  the  Gospel  alone  reveals  to  him  those 
attributes  of  the  divine  nature  which  contemplate  his 
case  with  an  aspect  of  beneficence,  and  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  which  he  derives  alike  his  happiness  and  his 
ability  to  glorify  God.  "This  is  life  eternal,  that  they 
might  know  Thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ 
whom  Thou  hast  sent."  Man,  as  a  sinner,  needs  light 
in  his  ignorance,  relief  in  his  misery,  and  salvation  in 
his  ruin.  Shall  he  appeal  to  nature  to  furnish  him 
information  in  regard  to  God's  willingness  to  help  him 
in  these  his  moral  exigencies? 

It  is  cheerfully  conceded  that  the  noble  frame  of 
external  nature,  and  the  sublime  lessons  it  imparts, 
conduct  us  to  some  acquaintance  with  the  natural  attri- 
butes of  God.  No  one  can  behold  the  sun  marching  in 
flaming  glory  through  the  heavens,  or  look  upon  the 
moon  walking  in  queenly  grace  through  the  nocturnal 
firmament,  or  scan  the  countless  hosts  of  the  stars  as 
they  hang  like  lamps  of  heaven  in  the  air  of  night; 
no  one  can  stand  on  the  shore  of  the  ocean  and  stretch 
his  vision  over  its  boundless  expanse,  or  listen  to  the 
thunder  of  its  mighty  billows;  no  one  can  watch  the 
ever-changing  hues  of  beauty  which  flit  across  the  ever- 
lasting mountains,  or  mark  the  gorgeous  tints  which 
adorn  the  forests,  the  plants,  the  flowers  of  the  earth; 
no  one  can  contemplate  these  glories  of  the  fabric  of 
nature,  and  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  transcendent 


200  Sermons 

majesty,  the  wondrous  skill,  and  the  matchless  wisdom 
of  the  Divine  Architect,  to  whom  they  evermore  render 
the  inarticulate  but  eloquent  tribute  of  their  praise. 

"The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim." 

And  that  is  all  they  do  proclaim.  The  over-arching 
heavens,  the  rolling  seas,  the  eternal  hills,  the  beautiful 
garniture  of  the  earth — what  utterance  do  they  give 
forth,  what .  trustworthy  lesson  do  they  furnish,  in 
reference  to  the  grace  and  the  mercy  of  God,  from 
which  alone  the  slightest  ray  of  hope  shines  on  the 
benighted,  wretched,  undone  heart  of  the  dying  sin- 
ner ?  Alas !  the  oracles  of  nature  are  dumb  in  response 
to  the  most  pressing  demands  of  the  human  soul.  We 
ask  them  for  knowledge  as  to  the  gracious  willingness 
of  God  to  pardon  and  accept  the  sinner,  and  they 
answer — not  a  word.  The  way  to  the  solution  of  the 
tremendous  difficulty  lies  not  through  nature.  "There 
is  a  path  which  no  fowl  knoweth,  and  which  the  vul- 
ture's eye  hath  not  seen :  the  lion's  whelps  have  not 
trodden  it,  nor  the  fierce  lions  passed  by  it."  No  labor- 
ious search,  no  human  alchymy,  can  discover  to  us  this 
secret  of  secrets.  "The  depth  saith,  it  is  not  in  me ;  and 
the  sea  saith,  it  is  not  with  me.  Destruction  and  death 
say,  we  have  heard  the  fame  thereof  with  our  ears. 
God  understandeth  the  way  thereof,  and  He  knoweth 
the  place  thereof,  and  unto  man  He  said.  Behold,  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom;  and  to  depart  from 
evil  is  understanding." 


Girardeau  201 

Let  it  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  the  elements 
of  nature  are  not  unfrequently  made  the  ministers  of 
destruction  to  man.  The  sun,  which  is  at  one  time  the 
cause  of  life,  is,  at  another,  the  occasion  of  death;  the 
moon  blights  the  eye  of  the  sleeper  with  its  silvery 
beam ;  the  stars  which  guide  the  feet  of  the  benighted 
wayfarer  become  obscured  with  clouds,  and  mock  his 
wanderings;  the  ocean,  which  bears  the  commerce  of 
man  on  its  smooth  bosom  is  lashed  by  tempests  into 
wrath,  and  swallows  up  his  hoarded  treasures  and  the 
dearest  objects  of  his  love;  the  winds,  which  now 
breathe  with  the  softness  of  the  zephyr  at  summer  even- 
tide, anon  rise  into  fury  and  sweep  the  earth  with  the 
besom  of  destruction ;  the  ground,  which  brings  forth 
fruit,  is  cursed  with  thorns  and  thistles;  and  the 
plants,  which  attract  the  eye  by  the  delicate  beauty 
of  their  structure,  may  conceal  the  deadl}'  poison  of 
the  hemlock  and  the  nightshade.  If  external  nature 
afford  us  am^  definite  hint  in  regard  to  a  single  moral 
perfection  of  God,  that  attribute  would  appear  to  be 
His  retributive  justice,  which  employs  natural  agencies 
to  execute  its  sentences;  and  the  inference  would  seem 
to  be  reasonable,  that  the  God  who  can  use  the  min- 
istries of  nature  for  the  destruction  of  man,  may  not 
be  willing  to  manifest  the  quality  of  mercy  in  the 
pardon  and  salvation  of  the  sinner. 

We  may,  how^ever,  be  pointed  to  the  moral  nature 
of  man,  as  that  which  reflects,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
the  moral  perfections  of  God.  I  am  not  unwilling  to 
admit  that  were  it  not  for  our  moral  constitution,  we 
might  be  unable  even  to  conceive  of  those  moral  attri- 
butes of  God  to  which  they  may  bear  some  distant 
resemblance.  But  the  question  is,  whether  from  this 
source  we  can  derive  any  satisfactory  information  in 


202  Sermons 

reference  to  the  mercy  of  God,  from  which  alone  the 
hope  of  a  sinner  can  arise.  Now,  conscience  condemn- 
ing what  is  wrong,  and  the  sense  of  justice  sanctioning, 
sometimes  against  our  strongest  affections,  the  punish- 
ment of  evil-doers,  shadow  forth  the  existence  in  the 
divine  nature  of  the  great  principle  of  distributive 
justice;  and  as  that  principle  in  God  must  be  infinitely 
perfect  and  uncompromising,  our  own  moral  nature 
would  lead  us  to  infer,  on  the  supposition  of  guilt  in 
a  subject  of  the  divine  government,  the  hopeless  estate 
of  the  offender.  It  has  been  contended,  however,  that 
the  disposition  on  the  part  of  a  human  parent  to  for- 
give the  offence  of  his  child,  upon  condition  of  repent- 
ance, would  lead  us  to  conclude  that  God  would  not  be 
unwilling,  under  like  circumstances,  to  pardon  the 
returning  sinner.  I  will  not  now  advert  to  the  impos- 
sibility of  adequate  repentance  on  the  part  of  the  sin- 
ner, though  that  might,  without  difficulty,  be  proved. 
Reflection  will  convince  us  that  the  pretended  analogy, 
in  the  case  which  has  been  mentioned,  is  a  deceptive 
one,  and  that  the  inference  drawn  from  it  is  hasty  and 
inconclusive.  There  is  an  infinite  difference  between 
the  parties  who  are  offended.  In  the  one  case  we  have 
a  human  being,  pervaded  by  sin  and  encompassed  with 
infirmity,  who,  it  might  be  supposed,  would  be  induced 
by  the  consciousness  of  his  ow^n  frailty  to  extend  indul- 
gence to  another;  in  the  other  case  we  have  a  Divine 
Being,  characterized  by  spotless  holiness  and  uncom- 
promising justice,  upholding  the  integrity  of  His  own 
government  and  conserving  the  interests  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  offence,  too,  in  one  instance,  is  immensely 
diverse  from  the  offence  in  the  other.  But  aside  from 
these  considerations,  an  extreme,  though  supposable 
case,  will  entirelv  subvert  the  analogy.    It  is  not  diffi- 


Girardeau  203 

cult  to  conceive  of  the  commission  of  certain  aggra- 
vated crimes  by  the  child  against  a  human  parent 
which  would  justly  doom  him  to  perpetual  exclusion 
from  parental  regard,  and  forever  preclude  the  hope  of 
reconciliation.  Such  a  case  would  furnish  a  fairer 
analogy  by  which  to  judge  the  relation  of  a  sinner  to  a 
being  of  infinite  holiness  and  justice.  It  deserves,  fur- 
ther, to  be  seriously  considered,  whether  the  very  first 
act  of  sin  does  not  necessarily  destroy  the  possibility  of 
the  existence  of  the  parental  and  filial  relation  between 
God  and  the  sinner,  and  leave  the  latter  in  the  simple 
condition  of  a  creature — a  fallen  and  condemned  crea- 
ture— until  adopted  into  the  fa'mily  of  God  through  the 
intervention  of  the  principle  of  mediation  in  the  person 
of  Him  who  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.  If  this 
view  be  correct,  then  the  very  ground  of  the  analogy 
is  swept  away.  On  the  whole,  we  are  driven  to  the 
conclusion  "that  nature  imparts  no  definite  information 
in  regard  to  those  attributes  of  God  w^iich  contemplate 
the  salvation  of  a  sinner. 

Shall  we,  then,  appeal  to  Providence  for  light  on  this 
momentous  subject?  Here  we  are  met  at  the  very 
threshold  by  difficulties  of  so  formidable  a  character 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell,  except  very  briefly,  on 
this  point.  Even  on  the  supposition  that  the  principle 
of  grace  pervades  and  influences  the  scheme  of  Provi- 
dence, it  is,  confessedly,  a  very  difficult  matter  rightly 
to  interpret  the  lessons  it  imparts.  There  is  an 
apparent  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  blessings  and 
chastisements,  so  great  as  at  times  to  confuse  the  judg- 
ment, and  perplex  the  faith  of  the  most  pious  and 
exemplary  servants  of  God.  Job,  the  venerable 
patriarch,  of  whom  God  Himself  bore  witness  that 
he  was  perfect  and  upright,  was,  in  one  gigantic  affile- 


204  Sermons 

tion,  stripped  of  his  possessions,  bereaved  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  driven,  under  the  violence  of  a  loathsome 
disease,  to  sit  in  the  dust,  to  cover  his  head  with  ashes, 
and  to  scrape  his  body  with  a  potsherd;  nothing, 
apparently,  being  left  him  in  his  well-nigh  exhaustive 
desolation  but  friends  who  misinterpreted  Providence 
in  his  case,  and  a  wife  who  counseled  him  to  die  with 
blasphemy  on  his  lips.  Aside  from  the  instructions  of 
the  Gospel,  what  sinner  may  infer,  from  the  dealings 
of  Divine  Providence,  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  God 
to  pardon  his  guilt  and  receive  him  to  favor?  He 
dwells  in  the  land  of  the  curse,  and  evils  in  a  thousand 
forms  attest  the  existence,  and  avouch  the  scope,  of  the 
law  of  retribution.  Famine,  war,  pestilence,  and  death, 
proclaim  themselves  the  ministers  of  distributive  jus- 
tice. There  is  no  escape  from  the  conclusion,  uttered  as 
with  trumpet  tongues  on  everj^  side,  that  God  will 
punish  the  guilty.  It  is  true,  that  even  to  the  wicked 
"He  leaves  not  Himself  without  witness  in  that  He 
does  good  and  gives  them  rain  from  heaven  and  fruit- 
ful seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness." 
But  these  providential  dealings  appear  to  be  tokens  of 
the  beneficence  of  God  exercised  only  for  a  season  even 
towards  incorrigible  offenders,  as  a  testimony  against 
them,  leaving  them  without  excuse,  rather  than  proofs 
of  His  merciful  disposition  to  pardon  the  guilty  with- 
out reparation  to  His  justice.  Nothing  can  be  deter- 
mined from  Providential  blessings  which  are  common 
to  the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  indicate  no  discrimina- 
tion betwixt  them.  No,  my  brethren,  the  providence  of 
God,  apart  from  the  Gospel,  furnishes  no  illustration 
of  those  adorable  perfections  of  the  divine  nature 
which  are  conspicuously  magnified  in  the  salvation  of 
sinners.     Its  native  language  is  not  that  of  grace  and 


Girardeau  205 

mercy.     When  it  speaks  to  us  of  them  it  borrows  its 
dialect  from  the  Gospel. 

Shall  we,  then,  look  to  the  law?  Let  us  take  our 
place  with  the  Israelites,  as,  in  response  to  the  divine 
summons,  they  assembled  at  the  base  of  Mount  Sinai. 
The  preparations  for  meeting  God,  and  receiving  His 
law,  are  stringent  and  awful.  On  the  appointed  day 
the  trumpet  peals  forth  from  the  mountain  on  the 
startled  ear  of  the  congregation,  and  waxing  louder 
and  louder  shakes  the  camp  with  terror.  Thick  clouds 
and  impenetrable  darkness  enshroud  the  seat  of  the 
august  Lawgiver,  while  breaking  forth  from  them, 
quick,  keen  flashes  of  lightning  and  tremendous  thun- 
derings  strike  horror  into  the  very  heart  of  the  people. 
The  mountain  quakes  to  its  centre,  and  hark !  there 
issues  from  the  darkness,  smoke  and  flame,  that  awful 
"voice  of  words,  which  voice  they  that  heard  entreated 
that  the  word  should  not  be  spoken  to  them  any  more." 
The  congregation  shrinks  away  appalled.  They  had 
been  confronted  with  that  law  which  reflects  with  daz- 
zling lustre  the  insufferable  purity  and  the  inexorable 
justice  of  God.  Do  or  die  is  the  only  alternative  it 
presents.  "Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  that  are  w^ritten  in  the  book  of  the  law  to 
do  them."  That  scene  is  now  not  seldom  re-enacted  in 
the  sinner's  case,  when  conscience,  waking  up  in  near 
view  of  death  and  the  last  judgTaent,  affirms  the  sen- 
tence of  the  law,  presses  in  its  terrible  sanctions  upon 
the  impenitent  soul,  and  binds  the  sinner  over  to  ever- 
lasting despair.  The  law  utters  not  one  syllable  of 
grace  or  mercy.  Its  office  is  to  convince  the  sinner  of 
guilt,  to  condemn  him  for  his  sins,  and  to  shut  him  up, 
either  to  despair,  or  to  the  acceptance  of  a  vicarious 
righteousness,  which  God  may  be  pleased  in  mercy  to 


206  Sermons 

provide.    That  it  affords  light  in  regard  to  some  of  the 
attributes  of  God  is  true,  but  it  is  such  light  as  shines 
upon  the  criminal  who  is  sentenced  to  be  burned  to 
death,  from  the  midst  of  the  fire  which  consumes  him. 
It  is  evident,  my  brethren,  that  not  the  frame  of 
nature,  nor  the  scheme  of  Providence,  nor  the  utterances 
of  the  divine  law,  nor  all  of  them  combined,  considered 
merely  in  themselves,  can  represent  to  the  sinner  the 
glory  of  the  blessed  God  so  as  to  elicit  his  gratitude 
for  saving  grace,  and  call  forth  his  thanksgivings  for 
redeeming  love.    It  is  reserved  for  the  Gospel,  and  for 
it   alone,   to  reflect   those   glorious   properties   of   the 
divine    nature   which    exhibit    God   in    an    aspect    of 
infinite  mercy  towards  the  guilty  and  the  lost.     With 
what  beauty  and  force  does  the  Psalmist  describe  the 
difference  between  the  teachings  of  nature  and  Provi- 
dence on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  Gospel  on  the  other, 
touching  the  perfections  of  God  in  their  relation  to 
the  spiritual  interests  of  man !     "The  heavens  declare 
the  glory   of  God,   and   the  firmament   sheweth   His 
handiwork.     Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night 
unto  night  sheweth  knowledge.     There  is  no  speech 
nor  language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard.    Their  line 
is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to 
the  end  of  the  world.     In  them  hath  He  set  a  taber- 
nacle for  the  sun,  which  is  as  a  bridegroom  coming  out 
of  his  chamber,  and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man  to  run 
a  race.    His  going  forth  is  from  the  end  of  the  heaven, 
and  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it,  and  there  is  nothing 
hid  from  the  heat  thereof."    Such  are  the  lessons  which 
nature  imparts.     The  power,  wisdom,  and  majesty  of 
God  the  Creator  and  Providential  Ruler,  are  magnifi- 
cently proclaimed ;  but  not  a  word  is  uttered  in  regard 
to  the  grace,  the  love,  the  mercy  of  God  the  Savior. 


Girardeau  207 

But  the  Psalmist  continues  in  another  strain:  "The 
law  of  the  Lord" — and  by  the  law,  I  conceive,  he  means 
the  great  principles,  both  legal  and  gracious,  which  are 
embodied  in  the  Gospel — "the  law  of  the  Lord  is  per- 
fect, converting  the  soul;  the  testimonj^  of  the  Lord 
is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple;  the  statutes  of  the 
Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart;  the  commandment 
of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes ;  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring  forever;  the  judgments  of 
the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.'' 

Most  clearly,  too,  does  the  apostle  contrast  the  terrific 
deliverances  of  the  law  with  the  peace-speaking  pro- 
visions of  the  Gospel,  in  a  passage  as  remarkable  for  its 
eloquence  and  sublimity  as  for  the  consolatory  and 
elevating  instructions  it  conveys: — "For  ye  are  not 
come  unto  the  mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that 
burned  with  fire,  nor  unto  blackness,  and  darkness,  and 
tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the  voice  of 
words,  wdiich  voice  they  that  heard  entreated  that  the 
word  should  not  be  spoken  to  them  any  more  (for  they 
could  not  endure  that  which  was  commanded,  and  if 
so  much  as  a  beast  touch  the  mountain,  it  shall  be 
stoned  or  thrust  through  with  a  dart;  and  so  terrible 
was  the  sight,  that  Moses  said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake).  But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  which  are  writ- 
ten in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of 
Abel." 


208  Sermons 

III.  I  TTOuld  further  remark,  that  the  Gospel  is  the 
representative  of  the  glory  of  God,  as  it  reveals  all  the 
attributes  of  the  divine  nature  harmonized  in  the  per- 
son and  work  of  the  glorious  Redeemer.  The  glory  of 
God  is  the  collective  result  of  all  His  perfections  meet- 
ing in  unison  in  His  own  most  blessed  nature,  and 
shining  forth  in  perfect  harmony  in  the  fulness  of  their 
manifestation  to  His  intelligent  creatures.  If  it  be 
asked,  where  this  effulgent  glory  is  the  most  conspic- 
uously and  illustriously  displayed,  I  answer — in  the 
wonderful  person  and  atoning  work  of  the  incarnate 
Savior  of  sinners.  "For  God,  who  commanded  the  light 
to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts  to 
give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God 
in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  There  is  no  attribute  of 
the  divine  character  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge 
from  nature,  from  Providence,  from  the  law,  or  from 
the  Scriptures  themselves,  which  is  not  gloriously  mag- 
nified by  the  great  Mediator;  but  above  all  do  the 
redeeming  grace  and  mercy  of  God,  which  are  no  where 
else  displayed,  shine  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
plan  of  redemption  has  its  foundation  in  the  mercy  of 
God.  Sinners  might  have  been  left  eternally  to  perish 
and  divine  justice  would  have  been  glorified  in  their 
destruction.  But  God,  having,  in  infinite  mercy,  de- 
termined to  save  them,  there  were  formidable  diffi- 
culties opposing  the  fulfilment  of  that  purpose.,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  insulted  perfections  of  His  nature  aud 
the  claims  of  His  violated  law.  It  was  in  meeting  and 
removing  these  difficulties,  that  the  eternal  Son  of  God 
at  once  magnified  the  holiness,  the  justice,  and  the 
veracity  of  God,  and  secured  the  end  which  was  con- 
templated by  free  and  unmerited  mercy.  Let  us  briefly 
consider  the  means  by  which  this  result  was  achieved. 


Girardeau  209 

If  wisdom,  in  its  loftiest  exercise,  be  the  adaptation 
of  the  best  means  to  the  acquisition  of  the  most  diflficult, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  noblest  ends,  then  is  this 
attribute  of  the  divine  nature  most  signally  illustrated 
in  the  mysterious  constitution  of  the  person  of  Christ. 
Look  at  the  exigencies  which  must  be  met,  and  the 
apparently  opposite  qualifications  which  must  concur 
to  the  accomplishment  of  the  end  which  was  proposed : 
He  who  should  undertake  to  be  the  mediator  must  have 
a  human  nature,  that  he  might  die,  and  a  divine 
nature,  that  he  might  be  sustained  in  existence  while 
enduring  the  tremendous  pressure  of  the  sentence  of 
the  law.  He  must  represent  the  perfections  of  God  and 
the  interests  of  sinners — uphold  the  authority  of  the 
divine  government,  and  secui-e  the  salvation  of  those 
who  had  outraged  it;  he  must,  therefore,  be  allied  by 
nature,  on  the  one  side,  to  God  and  on  the  other  to  the 
miserable  race  of  rebels.  He  must,  antecedently  to 
vmdertalring  the  mediatorial  work,  be  above  law,  by  the 
conditions  of  His  being,  and  he  must,  subsequently,  be 
under  the  law,  that  He  might  render  a  vicarious  obe- 
dience which  is  capable  of  being  transferred  to  the 
persons  of  sinners.  And  as  the  love  and  gratitude  of 
those  for  whom  an  atoning  sacrifice  might  be  offered 
would  inevitably  be  paid  to  him  who  should  render  it, 
it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  a  person  of  the  god- 
head, so  that  God,  who  demanded  the  punisliment  of 
the  substitute,  might  receive  the  adoration,  homage, 
and  love,  which  the  substitute  himself  would  acquire. 
All  these  conditions,  as  well  as  others  that  might  be 
mentioned,  incongruous  and  self-contradictory  as  they 
may  appear,  are  met  by  that  arrangement  of  consum- 
mate wisdom  bj^  which,  into  connection  with  the  divine 
person  of  the  Savior,  a  human  nature  was  assumed. 


210  Sermons 

No  delicately  constructed  organisms,  no  nicely  balanced 
adaptations  of  nature  or  of  Providence,  can  sustain  any 
comparison  to  this  wonderful  adjustment  of  the  per- 
sonal constitution  of  the  Redeemer  to  the  stupendous 
Avork  which  He  had  undertaken  to  perform. 

Behold,  horeover,  how  the  divine  holiness  shines  in 
the  person  of  Christ.  Perfectly  fulfilling  every  require- 
ment of  the  law  in  His  life,  adorned  by  every  grace  and 
virtue,  and  characterized  by  stainless  purity,  He  en- 
ables us,  more  clearly  than  would  otherwise  be  possible, 
to  realize  the  nature  of  the  divine  holiness  as  it  met  a 
palpable  and  concrete  manifestation  in  His  person  and 
character.  He  thus  not  only  satisfied  the  demands  of 
the  divine  holiness  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  sinners, 
but,  as  far  as  was  possible  through  the  medium  of 
human  nature,  afforded  a  perfect  exemplification  of 
that  attribute,  particularly  in  those  gentler  and  lovelier 
aspects  of  it  which  are  not  apt  to  strike  us  as  reflected 
by  the  law. 

The  divine  justice,  too,  is  more  abundantly  glorified 
in  the  person  and  work  of  Christ  than  by  the  judgments 
of  Providence  or  the  retributions  of  the  law.  The  per- 
son who  obeyed  the  divine  law,  by  fulfilling  its  pre- 
ceptive requirements,  and  by  enduring  its  awful 
penalty,  was  characterized  by  infinite  dignity,  and  so 
more  gloriously  honored  and  magnified  it  than  could 
have  been  done  had  the  whole  race  of  sinners  been 
offered  up  an  eternal  holocaust  to  the  insulted  justice 
of  God.  The  law  is  satisfied,  justice  is  appeased,  and 
the  divine  veracity  no  more  interposes  itself  between 
the  sinner  and  the  favor  of  God,  for  the  sentence,  "the 
soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die,*'  has  been  \drtually  ful- 
filled in  the  person  of  "the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world." 


Girardeau  211 

But,  brethren,  what  low  and  inadequate  conceptions 
have  we  of  that  glory  of  the  love  and  mercy  of  God 
which  so  transcendently  shines  in  the  face  of  the  suffer- 
ing and  dying  Savior!  The  record  of  the  Gospel  is, 
that  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only- 
begotton  Son  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  And  why-  did 
God  so  love  us?  Violators  of  His  law,  abusers  of  His 
goodness,  coming  short  of  His  glory  in  all  things, 
trampling  under  foot  His  kindly  and  parental  rule, 
filled  with  hostility  to  His  government  and  pervaded 
by  enmity  to  His  nature, — why  did  God  so  love  us? 
"For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die,  yet, 
peradventure,  for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare 
to  die;  but  God  commendeth  His  love  toward  us  in 
that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us/' 
Why  was  it  that  He  w^ho  was  in  the  form  of  God,  and 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation — stripped  Himself  of  that 
fame  which  was  rehearsed  by  cherubim  and  seraphim, 
sounded  through  flaming  worlds  of  light,  and  cele- 
brated in  rapturous  strains  in  the  worship  of  all  pure 
and  intelligent  existences?  Why,  when  He  had  thus 
divested  Himself  of  the  glory  which  He  had  with  the 
Father  before  the  world  was,  did  He  stoop  so  low  as 
to  take  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  subject 
Himself  to  the  law  which  He  Himself  had  adminis- 
tered in  incomparable  majesty?  Why,  when  He  had 
thus  bowed  His  neck  to  assume  the  yoke  of  His  own 
law,  did  He  still  pass  down  the  descending  scale  of  this 
wondrous  humiliation,  and  being  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men,  join  Himself  to  the  "accursed  company"  of 
hell-deserving  sinners?  Why,  when  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  went  He  yet  farther  down  into  the  abysses  of 


212  Sermons 

this  surpassing  shame,  and  consent  to  be  esteemed  "a 
worm  and  no  man"  in  the  eyes  of  the  vilest  of  the  sons 
of  men?  And  why  did  He  even  then  humble  Himself 
and  become  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross?  Why?  "Ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  who,  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes 
became  poor,  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  be- 
come rich."  In  that  life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  which 
designated  Him  "a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted 
with  grief"— in  His  bitter  conflict  in  the  wilderness — 
in  His  intolerable  agony  on  that  dark  and  doleful  night 
in  Gethsemane — in  the  buffeting  and  scourging  and 
spitting  which,  with  wanton  prodigality,  were  lavished 
on  Him  at  Pilate's  bar — in  His  condemnation  by  the 
supreme  authorities  of  His  own  visible  church — in 
the  derision  of  foes,  the  desertion  of  friends,  and  His 
abandonment  by  His  Father,  read  the  love,  the  grace, 
the  mercy  of  God  to  the  dying  children  of  men.  Oh, 
my  brethren,  what  a  wonderful  revelation  of  all  the 
glorious  perfections  of  God  is  made  in  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ !  Wisdom,  holiness,  justice,  truth,  mercy, 
and  grace,  beam  with  blended  and  concentrated  light 
in  that  face  of  the  crucified  Redeemer  which  was 
marred  with  human  spittle,  and  reddened  with  human 
gore.  Mercy,  which,  with  divinest  eloquence,  had 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  guilty,  and  truth,  which  had 
thundered  in  opposition  to  the  voice  of  mercy,  "the 
soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die" — mercy  and  truth  have 
met.  Righteousness,  which  had  raised  the  flames  of 
eternal  justice  in  the  face  of  the  apj)roaching  sinner, 
and  peace,  which  allays  the  fierceness  of  those  flames 
with  atoning  blood,  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other  at  the  cross  of  the  dying  Savior. 
Matchless  Redeemer !   Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory 


Girardeau  213 

and  compassionate  friend  of  undone  sinners !  We 
worship  Thee !  we  bless  Thee !  we  laud  and  magnify 
Thy  name !  Let  all  the  ministries  of  nature  praise  His 
name ;  let  the  winds  whisper  it ;  let  the  seas  thunder  it 
forth ;  let  sun,  moon,  and  stars  proclaim  it  as  they  roll 
on  in  their  everlasting  harmonies !  Bless  Him,  "ye  His 
angels  that  excel  in  strength,  that  do  His  command- 
ments, hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  His  word!"  And 
come,  fellow-sinners,  let  us  bring  hither  our  willing 
trophies,  for  He  redeems  our  souls  from  sin  and  death 
and  hell.  Blessed  Lord  Jesus,  had  we  gifts  of  gold, 
frankincense  and  myrrh,  we  would  lay  them  at  Thy 
feet;  had  we  honors  we  would  heap  them  up  before 
Thee ;  and,  as  we  have  poor,  worthless  hearts,  we  would 
offer  them  to  Thee,  and  dedicate  them  forever  to  Thy 
service ! 

IV.  I  would  briefly  remark,  furthermore,  that  the 
glory  of  God  will  be  everlastingly  displayed  in  the  sal- 
vation of  a  ransomed  church,  accomplished  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Gospel.  Even  in  the  first  crea- 
tion, the  grandest  object  in  the  new-formed  world  was 
man,  made  as  he  was  in  the  image  of  God,  and  reflect- 
ing, in  some  degree,  the  glorious  perfections  of  his 
maker.  Distinguished  by  knowledge,  righteousness, 
and  holiness,  his  soul  mirrored  forth  those  attributes 
in  the  divine  nature  of  which  these  were  a  faint  but 
noble  transcript.  But  when  the  likeness  of  God  was 
effaced  by  sin,  the  restoration  of  its  lost  lineaments 
involved  not  only  the  renewal  of  that  image  in  man 
which  reflects  the  divine  perfections,  but  supposed  the 
exercise  of  infinite  grace  and  mercy  in  the  redemption 
and  recovery  of  the  sinner.  It  is  a  greater  and  sublimer 
work  to  reproduce  the  divine  image  in  a  lost  and  pol- 
luted soul  than  at  first  it  was  to  stamp  it  on  a  sinless 


214  Ser3ions 

nature;  and  the  skill,  the  wisdom,  and  the  power  of 
God,  which  are  displayed  in  its  restoration,  are  only 
exceeded  in  glory  by  the  splendid  lustre  of  that  redeem- 
ing mercy  which  prompted  their  exercise,  and  harmon- 
ized their  operations  with  the  claims  of  offended  justice 
and  unbending  truth.  To  have  created  a  living,  intel- 
ligent being  out  of  nothing  was  an  effect  of  almighty 
power  which  staggers  reason  by  its  incomprehensible- 
ness,  and  requires  the  assent  of  a  faith  which  relies  on 
the  simple  testimony  of  God  to  the  fact  of  its  produc- 
tion. But  to  evoke  a  living  and  holy  soul  from  one 
already  dead  in  sin,  and  contrary  to  its  inherent  ten- 
dency to  perpetual  corruption  and  vice,  to  infuse  into 
it  the  vigor  of  an  eternal  life,  to  cause  it  to  advance  in 
every  grace,  and,  in  its  complete  restoration,  to  furnish 
a  perfect  exemplification  of  the  Godlike  principles  of 
truth,  justice,  and  charity, — this  is  the  result  not  merely 
of  inconceivable  power,  but  of  unutterable  mercy  and 
surpassing  love.  A  redeemed  and  regenerated  soul  is 
the  noblest  work  of  God.  The  simple  fact  of  its  pro- 
duction more  clearly  illustrates  the  divine  wisdom, 
power  and  goodness,  than  the  grand  mechanism  of  the 
external  world,  and  the  sublime  procedures  of  natural 
Providence;  while  the  graces  implanted  by  the  Spirit 
in  its  nature  image  forth  the  beneficent  perfections  of 
God  more  gloriously  than  the  virtues  which  adorned 
the  innocent  soul  of  Adam,  or  shine  in  the  unsinning 
spirit  of  an  angel.  These  results  are  accomplished  by 
the  instrumentality  of  that  Gospel  which  the  apostle 
justly  regards  as  affording  the  most  complete  represen- 
tation of  the  glory  of  the  blessed  God.  We  are  able  now 
to  perceive  them  only  very  inadequately.  But  the  day  is 
coming  when  they  will  be  fully  developed — a  day  when 
the  whole  number  of  the  redeemed,  gathered  out  of 


Girardeau  215 

every  kindred,  tribe  and  tongue  of  earth,  washed  from 
sin  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  made  perfect  in  the 
beauty  of  holiness,  shall  assemble  around  the  person 
of  their  enthroned  and  glorified  Lord.  Each  ransomed 
saint  in  that  immense  multitude,  like  a  polished  mirror, 
shall  perfectly  reflect  the  image  of  his  glorious  Head, 
and  the  Savior  shall  look  upon  the  purified  souls  before 
Him  and  be  satisfied.  That  joy  shall  fill  His  heart  for 
which  He  underwent  the  shame  of  humiliation,  the 
temptations  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  agonies  of  Cal- 
vary. Nor  will  a  single  heart  in  that  myriad  throng- 
be  unmoved,  nor  a  single  tongue  be  silent.  A  saved 
church  will  forever  show  forth  the  glory  of  her  God  as 
it  shall  be  everlastingly  unfolded  in  the  fruits  of 
redemption.  The  hymn  of  justice  and  the  anthem  of 
grace  will  blend  in  the  great  chorus  of  salvation — the 
song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb ;  and  all  the  glorious  per- 
fections of  the  Triune  God — ^Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  will  be  rapturously  and  eternally  celebrated  by 
the  united  choir  of  angels  and  ransomed  sinners. 

It  only  remains,  in  the  last  place,  to  observe — and  the 
remark  may  not  inappropriately  constitute  the  appli- 
cation of  this  discourse — that  the  responsibility  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  rests  upon  sinful  men.  The 
aspostle  declares  that  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God  was  committed  to  his  trust.  It  would  ap])ear  to  be 
obvious  that  there  is  eminent  fitness  and  profoundest 
wisdom  in  the  divine  arrangement  by  which  men  rather 
than  angels  are  commissioned  to  preach  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ.  It  might  have  pleased  God  to 
have  assigned  this  of&ce  to  the  latter;  and  doubtless 
they  would  have  proclaimed  the  wonderful  condescen- 
sion and  the  amazing  mercy  of  God  to  sinners  with 
hearts  of  seraphic  love  and  tongues  of  living  fire.    But 


216  Sermons 

not  conscious  themselves,  by  personal  experience,  of  the 
evil  and  misery  of  sin,  how  could  they  sympathize  with 
the  fallen  state  of  man?  It  is  for  a  sinner  who  has 
himself  been  "snatched  as  a  brand  from  the  burning" 
to  appreciate  the  difficulties,  the  temptations,  the  wants 
of  sinners:  with  a  patience  which  never  tires,  and  a 
charity  which  "hopeth  all  things,"  to  bear  with  their 
obstinate  indifference  and  persistent  unbelief.  It  is 
precisely  this  consideration  which  sustained  and  ani- 
mated the  great  preacher  to  the  Gentiles  when  tempted 
to  sink  under  the  weight  of  his  work,  and  to  faint  under 
the  discouragements  to  which  in  its  prosecution  he  was 
ceaselessly  exposed.  "Seeing  then  we  have  this  min- 
istry, as  we  have  received  mercy  we  faint  not."  Yes, 
brethren,  this  is  the  resistless  argument  which,  spring- 
ing from  the  bosom  of  our  own  experience,  forbids 
despair  in  the  presentation  of  the  claims  of  the  Gospel 
upon  our  dying  fellowmen.  We  speak  that  we  do 
know  when  we  declare  the  wondrous  grace  and  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ.  Have  we  not  in  time  past  resisted 
the  love  of  Jesus,  refused  to  believe  in  His  name,  and 
turned  a  deaf  ear  alike  to  the  moving  appeals  and  the 
tremendous  threatenings  of  the  Gospel?  How  can  we 
despond  ?  Wliat  right  have  we  to  faint  ?  No,  we  must 
preach  the  mercy  of  God,  the  love  of  Christ,  the  hope 
of  salvation,  to  our  unbelieving  fellow-sinners,  until 
either  they  or  we  are  laid  in  the  grave,  and  pass  from 
the  sweet  influences  of  grace  to  the  changeless  destinies 
of  eternity.  He  who  has  had  no  experimental  knowl- 
edge of  the  discipline  of  the  law,  of  the  anguish  of  the 
spiritual  conflict,  and  of  the  rest  of  the  conscience  in 
Christ,  may  yield  to  discouragement,  and  faint  under 
a  task  with  which  he  never  had  any  true  and  heart- 
felt sympathy ;   and  woe !  woe !  woe !  to  that  man  who, 


Girardeau  217 

without  such  experience,  impelled  by  ambition,  or  a 
mere  intellectual  relish  for  the  sublime  truths  of 
redemption,  or  by  any  other  carnal  motive,  ventures  to 
invade  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  pulpit,  to  stand 
between  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  to  assume  the 
awful  responsibility  involved  in  preaching  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  the  blessed  God  to  the  deathless  souls  of  men. 
But  they  who  have  felt  that  God,  who  commanded  the 
light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  their 
hearts  to  give  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  may  well  be  content 
to  bear  all  discouragement,  and  endure  all  trials,  in 
accomplishing  their  high  vocation,  and,  with  the 
apostle,  exclaim :  "We  are  troubled  on  every  side,  yet 
not  distressed;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in  despair; 
persecuted,  but  not  forsaken;  cast  down,  but  not  de- 
stroyed. .  .  .  We  having  the  same  spirit  of  faith 
according  as  it  is  written,  I  believed  and  therefore 
have  I  spoken;  we  also  believe  and  therefore  speak." 

We  see,  too,  in  the  light  of  this  subject,  what  it  is  that 
the  preachers  of  the  Gospel  are  commissioned  to  pro- 
claim. It  is  not  the  facts  of  nature,  the  speculations  of 
philosophy,  or  the  theories  of  science,  physical  or  polit- 
ical, it  is  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God  that  is 
committed  to  their  trust.  I  do  not  mean  to  convey  the 
impression  that  science  and  philosophy  constitute  a 
tree  of  knowledge  the  fruit  of  which  is  forbidden  to 
those  who  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  But  these  are 
not  the  Gospel.  A  dying  Savior,  a  risen  Savior,  an 
exalted  and  immortal  Savior, — repentance  towards  God 
and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  these  are  the  themes 
which  are  to  be  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  sinful 
men,  in  view  of  their  solemn  relations  to  God  and  to 
the  eternal  world.    And  oh,  my  brethren,  what  respon- 


218  Sermons 

sibilities  thicken  upon  those  who  preach  this  Gospel! 
Standing  between  God  and  the  sinner,  between  the 
Cross  of  Calvary  and  the  Judgment  bar,  between  the 
glories  of  heaven  and  the  glooms  of  hell,  dealing  on  the 
one  side  with  the  perfections  of  God,  and  on  the  other 
with  the  immortal  destinies  of  men,  who  of  them  is 
sufficient  for  these  things?  How  shall  they  secure  the 
glory  of  Him  who  has  commissioned  them  to  preach, 
and  the  eternal  welfare  of  those  to  whom  they  min- 
ister ?  Erelong  preachers  and  people  shall  stand  before 
that  bar  at  which  all  human  ties  and  human  duties  will 
be  subjected  to  a  rigid  and  impartial  scrutiny ;  and  of 
all  the  solemn  relations  which  will  there  be  reviewed, 
none  will  appear  to  be  so  big  with  momentous  issues, 
springing  into  light  amidst  the  splendors  and  terrors 
of  that  day,  as  that  which  has  existed  between  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  and  immortal  souls.  The  com- 
plexion of  eternity  must  largely  depend  upon  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Gospel  has  been  proclaimed  and 
received.  Were  it  not  that  he  who  has  been  called  of 
God  to  preach,  is  constrained  to  exclaim,  with  Paul, 
"necessity  is  laid  upon  me:  yea,  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I 
preach  not  the  Gospel,"  would  it  be  any  marvel  that, 
conscious  of  his  weakness  and  short-comings,  he  should 
sometimes  be  tempted  to  shrink  back  in  dismay  from 
the  gigantic  work,  and  even  pray  that  he  may  be 
released  from  farther  incurring  its  all  but  intolerable 
responsibilities  ? 

But  if  these  responsibilities  are  confessedly  not  less 
than  awful,  the  reward  which,  through  grace,  will  be 
conferred  on  the  faithful  preacher  of  the  Cross  will  be 
proportionately  great.  To  be  called  of  God  to  minister 
in  the  Gospel  of  His  Son,  is  to  be  possessed  of  an  honor 
which  he  who  enjoys  it  may  well  prefer  to  the  thrones 


Girardeau  219 

and  diadems  of  earth.  To  win  one  immortal  spirit  to 
Christ  is  to  perform  an  office  with  which  no  worldly 
labor  can  compare,  and  to  attain  an  end  which  richly 
compensates  a  weary  life-time  of  toil.  It  will  afford 
ineffable  satisfaction  to  be  conscious  of  having  been 
the  instrument  of  adding  a  single  crown- jewel  to  the 
treasures  of  a  Savior  once  crucified,  now  despised,  but 
destined  to  reign  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  To 
be  impelled  to  labor  by  the  love  of  sinners  is  to  partake 
of  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  to  undergo  in  this  work  discour- 
agement, self-denial  and  pain,  is  to  share  the  sufferings 
of  Jesus,  and  to  prosecute  it  unto  the  end  through 
watchings,  fastings,  temptations,  and  tears,  will  be  to 
participate  in  the  joy  of  Jesus  and  reign  with  Him  for- 
evermore.  Brethren,  the  day  in  which  we  are  privi- 
leged to  labor  for  our  blessed  Master,  with  some  of 
us  at  least,  is  sensibly  passing  away.  "The  night 
cometh  when  no  man  can  work."  Happy,  thrice  happy 
will  he  be  who,  standing  on  the  extreme  verge  of  life, 
and  looking  back  upon  his  mortal  history,  can  feel  that 
its  record  of  sins  and  short-comings  in  the  ministry  is 
expunged  in  the  blood  of  atonement,  and  looking  for- 
ward to  the  future,  opening  upon  him  with  the  glories 
of  a  celestial  morning,  can  exclaim  with  the  dying 
apostle, — "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time 
of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith :  hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at 
that  day!" 


220  Serimons 


THE  PROSPERITY  AND  EFFICIENCY 
OF  A  CHURCH 

Ephesians  iv,  15,  16 :  "5w^  speaking  the  truth  in  love, 
may  grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head, 
even  Christ:  from  whoin  the  whole  body  fitly  pined 
together  and  compacted  hy  that  which  every  joint 
supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  hody  unto 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  love^ 

In  the  previous  part  of  this  chapter  the  apostle  fur- 
nishes an  exposition  of  the  unity  of  the  church  and  of 
the  different  offices  which  for  her  edification  and  per- 
fection had  been  conferred  upon  her  by  the  ascended 
Savior.  In  the  text,  he  sets  forth  the  nature  of  her 
relation  to  Christ,  of  her  own  organic  constitution,  and 
of  the  process  by  which  her  vital  energy  is  communi- 
cated and  increased.  In  introducing,  my  brethren,  on 
this  occasion  some  reflections  growing  out  of  the  past 
history  of  this  congregation,  your  attention  is  directed 
to  the  question, — How  may  the  prosperity  and  effi- 
ciency of  a  church  be  secured? — a  sufficiently  full  and 
comprehensive  answer  to  which  inquiry  is  afforded  in 
the  words  of  the  text. 


Note. — To  this  sermon,  preached  in  1860,  is  appended  the  follow- 
ing note :  "Preached  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Charleston, 
at  the  request  of  the  pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smyth,  at  the  expiration 
of  the  fiftieth  year  of  the  existence  of  the  church.  It  was  expected 
that  on  that  occasion  a  series  of  discourses  would  be  preached  by 
those  who  had  formerly  been  connected  with  the  church,  and  that 
so  an  aggregate  of  personal  reminiscences  would  be  attained.  The 
coming  on  of  the  war  prevented  the  arrangement  from  being  fully 
carried  out.  This  justifies  the  amount  of  personal  allusion  in  the 
concluding  part  of  the  sermon." 


Girardeau  221 

I.  The  first  point  which  claims  our  notice  is  the  fact 
asserted  by  the  apostle  that  the  church  as  the  body  of 
Christ  derives  all  her  life  and  vigor  from  Him  as  her 
head. 

The  Scriptures  represent,  by  means  of  various 
striking  analogies,  falling  within  the  scope  of  ordin- 
ary observation,  the  intimate  relation  which  subsists 
between  Christ  and  His  church.  At  one  time  this 
union  is  compared  to  that  between  the  branch  and 
its  parent  stem.  "I  am  the  vine,'-  said  the  Savior, 
in  His  valedictory  discourse  to  His  disciples,  "ye  are 
the  branches.  Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the 
branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself  except  it  abide  in 
the  vine;  no  more  can  ye  except  ye  abide  in  me.'' 
As  long  as  the  branch  is  united  to  the  vine  the  vital 
juices  which  constitute  the  life  and  vigor  of  the  parent 
stock  are  by  natural  processes  conveyed  to  it.  Its  life 
depends  on  its  connection  with  the  vine.  Destroy  this 
union,  sunder  the  branch  from  the  vine,  and  it  instantly 
begins  to  wither  and  die.  In  like  manner  the  church, 
sustaining  an  intimate  union  to  Christ,  derives  from 
Him  those  vital  influences  without  which  she  could  not 
for  a  moment  exist  in  her  spiritual  integrity  and  power. 

At  another  time  this  union  between  the  Sa\dor  and 
His  church  is  likened  to  that  which  exists  between  a 
husband  and  his  wife,  who,  upon  the  constitution  of  the 
matrimonial  bond,  by  the  ordinance  of  God,  cease  to  be 
twain  and  become  one  flesh :  and  in  this  point  of  view 
marriage  rises  above  the  ordinary  relations  of  life  and 
becomes  a  significant  type  of  the  union  which  exists 
between  Christ  and  His  elect  and  ransomed  bride. 
"For  this  cause,"  says  I*aul  in  this  same  epistle,  "shall 
a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  be  joined 
unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh.    This  is 


222  Sermons 

a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and 
the  church."  But  perhaps  the  most  forcible  and 
instructive  analogy  which  is  employed  to  describe  this 
relation  is  that  which  is  derived  from  the  connection 
between  the  human  body  and  its  head.  This  is  the 
illustration  furnished  in  the  text,  and  very  strikingly 
expressed  in  a  parallel  passage  which  occurs  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians, — "and  not  holding  the  head 
from  which  all  the  body  by  joints  and  bands  having 
nourishment  ministered,  and  knit  together,  increaseth 
with  the  increase  of  God."  In  consequence  of  the  con- 
nection existing  between  them,  the  vital  influence 
descending  from  the  head  is  communicated  to  the  body, 
pervades  every  member  and  secures  the  regular  and 
healthful  discharge  of  all  the  bodily  functions.  De- 
stroy this  union  and  the  body  at  once  becomes  paralyzed 
and  ceases  to  perform  its  offices.  It  is  no  longer  a  living 
thing — it  is  a  corpse.  This  beautifully  illustrates  the 
relation  between  Christ  and  the  church.  He  is  the 
head,  of  which  she  is  the  mystical  but  real  body.  A 
living  influence,  an  operative  energy  flows  down  from 
Him  to  the  church,  diffuses  itself  through  her  whole 
being,  animates  all  her  members,  and  enables  her  to 
accomplish  all  those  salutary  ministries  for  which  her 
very  existence  was  designed.  If  this  vital  union  exists 
in  its  native  force,  the  church  is  alive  and  vigorous. 
If  not,  she  dies.  She  may  be  adorned  with  tlie  garni- 
ture and  beauty  of  imposing  rites,  ceremonies  and 
sacraments,  but  they  are  the  ornaments  which  deck  the 
corpse  for  the  grave. 

If  now  the  question  be  raised  in  regard  to  the 
nature  of  that  living  influence  which  is  dispensed  from 
Christ  as  the  head  of  the  church  as  his  body,  the 
answer  is  plain.     The  Scriptures  uniformly  represent 


Girardeau  223 

the  life  of  the  church  to  be  the  Holy  Spirit.     "If  any 
man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His." 

How  the  Spirit  is  the  life  of  Christ,  by  virtue  of 
whom  Christ  is  our  life,  it  is  not  now  necessary  to 
inquire.  This  we  know,  that  in  Christ  "dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  and  that,  therefore, 
in  Him  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit  dwells.  As  mediator, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  was  upon  Him;  to  Him 
the  Spirit  was  not  given  by  measure;  in  the  day  of 
His  solemn  induction  by  baptism  into  His  mediatorial 
offices,  the  Spirit  descended  and  rested  on  Him,  and  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  by  the  indwelling  influence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  He  was  qualified  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  glorious  mission  upon  which  He  came 
as  the  incarnate  Savior  into  the  world.  The  exceeding 
greatness  of  that  power  by  which  Christ  was  raised 
from  the  dead  was  immediately  exercised  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  The  Savior  having  accomplished  His  media- 
torial work  on  earth,  purchased,  according  to  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  everlasting  covenant,  the  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted  He  sues  out  by  His  intercessions  the  saving 
grace  of  the  Spirit  and  dispenses  it  with  princely 
munificence  to  His  body  the  church.  The  Spirit  thus 
dwelling  in  Christ,  comes  down  with  the  commission 
of  the  exalted  Redeemer,  endorsed,  so  to  speak,  with 
the  seal  of  the  Father,  and  by  His  new-creating  energy 
communicates  a  new  life — the  life  of  Christ — to  the 
dead  sinner,  empowers  him  to  exercise  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God  and  constitutes  a  vital  relation  between  him 
and  his  Savior.  Then  establishing  His  permanent 
residence  in  the  believer,  the  Spirit  sanctifies  him  in 
Christ  Jesus,  forms  in  him  Christ  the  hope  of  glory, 
assimilates  him  to  the  image  of  Christ  and  endures  him 


224  Sermons 

with  the  strength  of  Christ  tlirough  ^yhich,  though 
impotent  in  himself,  he  is  enabled  to  "do  all  things." 
The  believer  thus  united  to  Christ  becomes  one  of  His 
members.  His  possession  of  spiritual  life  and  his 
ability  to  discharge  spiritual  functions  are  derived  to 
him  from  Christ,  his  head,  through  the  vital  operation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  As  men  enjoy  natural  life  because 
in  God  they  live  and  move  and  have  their  being,  so  do 
believers  enjoy  spiritual  life  because  in  Christ  they  live 
and  move  and  have  their  being.  The  Spirit  of  holiness 
is  the  very  essence  of  their  spiritual  life. 

Since,  then,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  the  life  of  each 
individual  believer,  it  is  clear  that  He  is  the  life  of  the 
collective  societ}^  of  saints.  The  church,  however,  let 
it  be  observed,  is  not  a  mere  community  of  isolated 
units  gathered  by  a  sort  of  mechanical  or  local  union 
into  an  aggregated  mass.  It  is  an  organic  whole,  per- 
vaded and  actuated  by  a  common  life  which  imparts 
to  it  the  characteristic  of  unity.  Each  of  its  members 
is  dependent  on  Christ  the  head,  and  connected  by 
the  vital  bond  of  His  spirit  with  every  other  member 
of  His  mystical  body.  The  analogy  of  the  human 
bod}"  indicated  in  the  text  is  here  again  in  point.  Each 
member  has  an  individual  life  as  derived  from  the 
head,  but  not  as  considered  separately  from  the  body 
as  an  organic  whole.  The  life  of  one  is  the  life  of  the 
whole.  The  church  is  an  organism  the  animating  prin- 
ciple of  which  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Whatever  of 
life  she  has,  whatever  of  power  to  put  forth  spiritual 
energies  and  to  discharge  spiritual  functions,  is  derived 
from  the  pervading  and  vitalizing  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  church,  according  to  the  representa- 
tion of  the  text,  as  the  whole  body  of  Christ  is  "fitly 


Girardeau  225 

joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which  every 
joint  supplietl>." 

II.  The  next  great  point  brought  to  our  notice  in  the 
text,  and  deserving  our  attention,  is  the  fact,  that  there 
are  instrumentalities  in  the  church  as  the  body  of 
Christ,  through  which,  as  appointed  channels,  the  vital 
influence  descending  from  her  head  is  communicated 
and  diffused,  in  order  to  the  full  development  of  her 
life  and  power.  These  instrumentalities  may  be  dis- 
tributed into  two  kinds,— first,  the  graces  of  the  Spirit ; 
secondly,  the  personal  gifts  and  ministry  of  the  officers 
and  members  of  the  church.  Considerable  discussion 
has  been  had,  and,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  con- 
trary, somewhat  unnecessarily,  in  regard  to  the  nature 
of  what  the  apostle,  in  the  text,  terms  the  joints,  and, 
in  the  twin  passage  in  Colossians,  the  joints  and  bands, 
through  which  the  vital  influence  is  communicated 
from  the  head  to  the  body,  and  through  which  the 
unity  and  increase  of  the  church  is  secured.  It  would 
seem  to  be  obvious  that  whatever  divinely  appointed 
instrumentality  exists  in  the  organization  of  the  church 
by  means  of  which  her  vital  force  is  transmitted,  her 
unity  conserved  and  her  growth  advanced,  may  be 
regarded  as  intended  in  these  figurative  and  illustrative 
expressions,  which,  from  their  very  nature,  should  not 
be  expressed  with  an  excessive  rigor  and  literalness  of 
interpretation.  There  can  scarcely  be  any  just  reason 
for  excluding  from  these  categories  any  instituted 
means  in  the  organism  of  the  church  by  which  these 
several  ends  are  attained.  All  are  included  which  serve 
to  maintain  the  union  and  communion  between  the 
body  and  the  head,  and  between  the  several  members 
of  the  bodv  itself. 


226  Sermons 

Prominent  among  the  sacred  bonds  which  unite  the 
church  to  her  Divine  Head  must  be  ranked  those 
eminent  graces  of  the  Spirit,  faith  and  love.  It  is  the 
very  office  of  faith  instrumentally  to  unite  to  Christ. 
Its  peculiar  and  distinguishing  efficacy  is  derived  not 
from  any  intrinsic  excellence  in  itself,  but  from  its 
immediate  relation  to  Him.  It  is  the  joint  which 
articulates  the  church  as  a  body  to  her  glorious  head, 
and  through  which  flows  down  to  her  the  supply  of 
that  divine  influence  which  vitalizes  and  invigorates 
her.  What  is  true  in  this  respect  of  the  individual 
believer  is  equally  true  of  the  church  as  a  whole.  Faith 
in  Christ  is  the  grand  instrument  through  which  all 
spiritual  strength  and  sustenance  are  derived. 

A  co-ordinate  office,  though  dissimilar  in  its  mode  of 
operation,  is  discharged  by  the  grace  of  love.  It  binds 
the  church  to  Christ,  her  head,  by  the  band  of  a  holy, 
grateful,  and  undying  affection.  Her  love  to  Him 
resistlessly  impels  her  to  engage  with  untiring  devotion 
in  His  service,  and  by  leading  her  to  contemplate  with 
unceasing  admiration.  His  loveliness,  excellency  and 
glory,  enables  her  to  "grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things 
who  is  her  Head."  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the 
prosperity  and  efficiency  of  a  church  must  largely 
depend  upon  the  fidelity  with  which  she  cultivates  and 
strengthens  these  bonds  of  union  to  her  Savior.  Im- 
planted and  sustained  by  the  blessed  Spirit  who  is 
emphatically  her  life,  they  are  at  once  the  fruits  of  that 
life  and  the  means  by  which  it  is  developed. 

Another  class  of  instrumentalities  through  which 
the  life  of  the  church  is  diffused  and  her  vigor  main- 
tained is  the  personal  ministry  of  her  officers  and 
members.  It  is  not  intended  to  convey  the  impression 
that  the  persons  of  the  office-bearers  of  the  church  are 


Girardeau  227 

the  necessary  media  of  transmission  through  which  the 
vital  influence  from  her  Head  is  communicated,  or  that 
their  ministry,  as  hj  the  force  of  a  charm,  must  always 
convey  a  divine  and  saving  energy;  but  that  those 
offices  are  conferred  upon  the  church  by  her  exalted 
Head,  as  appointed  instruments,  through  which  He  is 
pleased  to  accomplish  gracious  and  salutary  results. 
They  are  simply  organs,  but  organs  which  He  has 
ordained,  for  the  glory  of  His  name  and  the  salvation 
of  His  body.  Nor  can  the  church,  without  manifest 
disobedience  to  Him,  or  a  detrimental  course  towards 
herself,  either  repudiate  or  lightly  esteem  them.  There 
is  the  pastoral  office  involving  the  joint  functions  of 
preaching  and  ruling,  through  which  the  word  is  min- 
istered, which  is  at  once  the  instrument  of  conversion 
and  the  aliment  of  spiritual  growth,  and  through  which 
government  is  dispensed  for  the  benefit  of  the  church. 
There  is  the  ruling  office  by  means  of  which  govern- 
ment is  dispensed,  a  watchful  care  exercised  over  the 
interests  of  the  flock,  and  a  just  and  tender  discipline 
is  administered.  There  is  the  diaconal  office  through 
which  provision  is  made  and  alms  supplied  for  the  sus- 
tenance and  comfort  of  the  poor  and  needy  members 
of  Christ.  Nor  ought  the  gifts  conferred  and  the 
obligations  entailed  upon  the  private  members  of  the 
body  to  be  disregarded.  The  living  influence  proceed- 
ing from  the  Head,  according  to  the  effectual  working 
in  the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the 
body  to  its  edification  in  love.  To  each  and  every 
member,  whether  official  or  not,  appropriate  spheres  of 
influence  are  assigned,  appropriate  gifts  communicated, 
and  appropriate  obligations  attached,  an  account  for 
which  must  be  rendered  when  the  Master  shall  come. 
Each   member  has  his  own   ministry   to   accomplish. 


228  Sermons 

Those  parts  of  the  body  which  are  directive  may  not 
dispense  with  those  that  are  locomotive.  The  head 
may  not  despise  the  foot.  Animated  by  a  common  life, 
invigorated  by  a  common  strength,  and  seeking  a  com- 
mon end,  all  the  members  should  co-operate  for  the 
edification  of  the  body  and  the  glory  of  the  Head.  The 
minister,  preaching  the  Word,  administering  the  sacra- 
ments, visiting  the  flock,  exercising  watch  over  their 
spiritual  interests;  the  ruling  elder,  in  company  with 
the  pastor,  discharging  his  approi3riate  offices  of  joint 
rule  and  in  his  several  capacity  admonishing,  coun- 
selling and  entreating;  the  deacon  dispensing  alms  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  managing  the  temporal 
affairs  of  the  church ;  the  private  member,  in  his  own 
place,  and  subject  to  the  limitations  of  his  condition, 
assisting  at  social  meetings,  engaging  in  prayer,  speak- 
ing the  word  of  fraternal  exhortation,  aiding  in  the 
instruction  of  the  young  and  the  ignorant,  and  dis- 
charging the  thousand  nameless  and  unostentatious 
ministries  of  Christian  love;  these  all,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Divine  Spirit  contribute  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  whole.  The  organism  is  complete,  not  only 
in  its  informing  life,  and  its  constituent  elements,  but 
in  the  regulated  and  harmonious  development  of  its 
several  activities.  It  is  too  obvious  to  require  remark 
that  upon  the  faithfulness  with  which  these  instru- 
mentalities are  employed,  upon  the  unction,  devotion 
and  fidelity  of  her  office-bearers  and  the  unobtrusive 
but  conscientious  discharge  of  their  proper  duties  by 
her  i^rivate  members,  the  prosperity  and  efficiency  of  a 
church  will,  under  God,  to  a  great  degree  depend. 

Another  of  those  joints  and  bands  through  which 
the  increase  of  the  church  in  prosperity  and  efficienc}^ 
is  secured,  is  the  love  which  its  members  are  bound  to 


Girardeau  229 

exercise  toward  one  another.  Every  community  is 
founded  partly  in  the  grand  conception  of  mutual 
love.  It  is  the  very  cement  of  society,  the  bond  of 
association.  It  is  the  oft-quoted  observation  of  a  great 
writer  that  the  voice  of  law  is  the  harmony  of  the 
world.  This  is  true,  if  under  the  term  law  be  included 
every  sort  of  aiRnity — the  attraction  which  binds 
worlds  together,  the  affiliation  of  related  species  for 
one  another,  animate  and  inanimate,  and  the  great  and 
all-pervading  force  of  affection  which  irresistibly 
draws  intelligent  and  moral  beings  into  intercourse 
with  each  other.  This  powerful  principle  of  love, 
which  in  the  general  was  designed  to  operate  through 
the  universe,  is  employed  under  special  relations  and 
sanctions  in  that  peculiar  society  which  is  organized 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  the  living  body  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  members  of  it  are  bound  together,  not  by  a  com- 
mon natural  but  a  common  spiritual  life.  The  tie  is 
not  the  domestic,  not  the  merely  social  or  civil  one 
which  links  men  together  in  the  organizations  of  earth. 
It  is  one  which  immediately  grows  out  of  a  common 
relation  to  Christ  as  Redeemer  and  Head.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  church  are  one  in  Christ.  They  love  each 
other  for  Christ's  sake.  They  recognize  in  one  another 
the  image  of  a  glorious  Savior,  and  thus  the  possession 
of  a  common,  though  peculiar,  attribute  attracts  them 
powerfully  to  each  other.  It  is  the  strongest,  as  it  is 
destined  to  be  the  most  permanent,  of  all  kinds  of  love. 
And  it  is  a  debt  which  the  more  it  is  paid  the  more  it 
increases. 

In  proportion  to  the  increase  of  this  great  principle 
on  which  Christian  fellowship  is  founded,  and  on 
which  all  Christian  offices  of  charity  and  tenderness 


230  Sermo:ns 

depend,   will   be   the   prosperity    and   efficiency   of   a 
church. 

III.  Hitherto  in  these  remarks  attention  has  been 
directed  to  the  internal  relations  of  the  church  and 
their  corresponding  duties.  But  there  are  also  external 
relations  which  she  sustains,  relations  to  the  uncon- 
verted world,  conveying  most  solemn  trusts  the  dis- 
charge of  which  is  necessary  to  the  full  develpoment 
of  her  spiritual  life.  The  love  which  she  bears  to 
Christ,  and  in  which  she  grows  up  in  conformity  to 
Him  as  her  Head,  must  lead  her  alike  to  imitate  His 
beneficent  example  and  to  seek  its  own  exercise  in 
efforts  which  contemplate  the  salvation  of  the  ignorant, 
the  wretched  and  the  lost.  Commissioned  by  her 
Head  to  convey  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  she  can- 
not, without  impairing  her  own  av  elf  are,  refuse  com- 
pliance with  this,  His  last  command.  IVhile  disobe- 
dience to  it  would  cripple  her  energies  and  suppress 
her  growth,  conformity  to  its  requirements  assimilates 
her  to  Him,  and  furnishes  scope  for  the  exercise  of  her 
loveliest  graces  and  her  most  Christlike  acts.  The  cul- 
tivation of  the  habit  of  systematic  benevolence  as 
opposed  to  spasmodic  and  evanescent  impulses;  the 
fostering  of  the  grace  of  giving,  involving  in  its  exer- 
cise the  culture  of  gracious  tempers,  the  rendering  of 
acts  of  worship  and  the  performance  of  Christian 
duties;  the  offering  of  importunate  and  concerted 
praj'er  for  the  salvation  of  the  destitute  in  regions 
adjacent;  the  redemption  of  the  heathen  in  benighted 
lands,  and  the  speedy  and  triumphant  establishment 
of  Christ's  glorious  and  peaceful  kingdom ;  the  making 
of  stated  collections  practically  to  advance  the  sublime 
objects  for  the  attainment  of  which  she  prays; — these 
are  almost  necessary  features  of  a  prosperous  and  effi- 


Girardeau  231 

cient  church.  Without  them  there  may  be  a  church, 
but  not  a  church  which  increases  in  love  and  grows  up 
in  the  generous  exercise  of  that  leading  grace  in  con- 
formity to  Him  who  was  love  incarnate. 

If  she  be  Christ's  she  must  have  Christ's  spirit  and 
must  love  like  Christ.  A  lost  world  appeals  to  her  for 
help.  To  be  indifferent  to  that  thrilling  appeal,  break- 
ing upon  her  like  the  dying  wail  of  souls,  is  to  close  her 
ear  to  a  call  which  brought  Christ  from  heaven,  to  shut 
up  her  bowels  of  compassion  against  an  object  for 
which  the  heart  of  Jesus  broke,  and  to  withhold  her 
earthly  substance  from  the  attainment  of  an  end  which 
her  Savior  gave  Himself  to  gain. 

If  these  remarks  be  correct,  it  follows  that  the  pros- 
perity and  efficiency  of  a  church  chiefly  depend  upon 
the  degree  in  which  she  realizes  her  relation  to  Christ, 
her  head,  and  enjoys  the  quickening  and  sanctifying 
influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  church  can  exist 
without  this  living  influence,  and  no  church  can  be 
prosperous  and  efficient  without  possessing  it  to  at  least 
some  considerable  extent.  The  measure  of  her  energy 
is  the  degree  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  lives  and  acts 
within  her.  This  is  her  true  and  inner  life.  Springing 
from  the  very  center  and  source  of  her  inward  being 
it  develops  itself  in  all  those  fruits  and  graces  which 
adorn,  ennoble  and  enrich  her.  Nothing,  therefore,  can 
compensate  a  church  for  the  absence  of  this  vital 
power.  Numbers  may  crowd  her  gates  and  throng  her 
solemn  feasts,  incense  may  roll  up  from  her  altars  and 
perfume  the  atmosphere,  and  sacramental  rites  may 
be  dispensed  with  the  decorous  pomps  of  priestly  min- 
istrations; but'alas!  she  is  barren  of  spiritual  children, 
the  genuine  graces  of  religion  are  caricatured,  and  her 
fruits  hang  in  withered  clusters  around  her.    Her  life 


232  Sermons 

is  gone,  her  light  extinguished,  and  her  glory  departed. 

It  is  obvious,  too,  that  all  mere  human  machinery,  all 
ordinances  and  institutes  of  man's  appointment,  and  all 
unscriptural  alliances  with  the  world,  must  serve  only 
to  encumber  the  church  and  impede  the  development 
of  her  inner  life,  obscuring  her  perceptions  of  her  im- 
mediate relation  to  Christ  and  diminishing  her  sense 
of  implicit  dependence  upon  the  Spirit,  they  cannot 
but  prove  disastrous  to  her  spiritual  interests.  Let  a 
church,  then,  cultivate  a  living  and  active  faith  in  her 
Lord  and  Head,  let  her  honor  the  Spirit  who,  descend- 
ing from  Him,  communicates  her  life  and  vigor,  let  her 
put  forth  the  strength  of  her  heaven-born  charity,  and 
she  cannot  fail  to  be  prosperous  and  efficient.  She  will 
"arise  and  shine,  her  light  being  come,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  being  risen  upon  her." 

Wliile  seeking  the  increase  of  her  love  to  Christ,  the 
church  will  also  be  led  to  cultivate  a  cordial  sympathy 
and  a  catholic  communion  with  all  His  saints.  A  nar- 
row and  bigoted  temper  equally  foreign  to  the  spirit 
of  her  Head  and  repugnant  to  her  own  best  instincts 
must  tend  to  cramp  her  energies,  disfigure  her  beauty 
and  obscure  her  light.  While  contending  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  it  is  her  duty 
as  well  as  her  policy  to  break  through  the  fetters  of 
sectarian  prejudice  and  to  embrace  all  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  arms  of  a  tender  and  heartfelt 
affection. 

So  much  has  already  been  said  in  the  course  of  the 
previous  observations  in  regard  to  the  utility  and  the 
necessity  of  a  faithful  and  co-operative  employment  of 
the  ministries  of  the  several  officers  and  members  of  the 
church,  as  parts  of  Christ's  body,  that  I  shall  not  stay 


Girardeau  233 

to  insist  at  length  upon  the  practical  enforcement  of 
that  obligation. 

Before  passing,  however,  from  the  brief  considera- 
tion of  this  department  of  the  subject,  permit  me  to 
advert  to  the  fact  that  nothing  can  supply  to  a  church 
the  lack  of  attention  to  the  divinely-instituted  means  of 
grace,  the  AVord,  the  sacraments  and  prayer.  Neglect 
of  these  must  result  in  dwarfing  her  spiritual  life  and 
in  shearing  her  gifts  and  ministries  of  their  legitimate 
power.  Let  the  church  profoundly  study  the  Word  of 
God.  which  is  at  once  her  constitutional  charter,  her 
rule  of  faith,  and  her  directory  of  practice.  Let  its 
public  ministrations  be  devotedly  and  reverently 
received.  Nor  let  its  instructions  be  confined  to  the 
great  congregations  and  the  days  of  solemn  assembly, 
but  faithfully  impressed  upon  the  family,  which,  after 
all,  is  the  true,  the  divinely-appointed  nursery  of  the 
church.  Let  parents  be  indoctrinated  in  their  respon- 
sible and  important  duties,  and  the  baptized  children 
of  the  church  be  led  to  appreciate  their  relation  to  the 
covenant  and  their  inalienable  privileges  and  obliga- 
tions. Let  the  instrumentality  of  the  Sabbath  school 
be  faithfully  employed  which,  though  holding  a  sub- 
ordinate place  to  the  family  as  a  school  of  religious 
instruction,  is  yet  highly  and  beneficently  useful  in  the 
nurture  of  the  children  of  the  church;  and  to  be 
regarded  with  especial  attention  as  affording  a  sphere 
of  labor  for  the  private  members  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  as  looking  with  a  tender  missionary  spirit  to  the 
wants  of  those  little  ones,  the  stray  lambs,  for  whose 
welfare  no  man  cares.  Nor  let  the  church  be  indifferent 
to  the  claims  of  those  who,  from  the  peculiar  structure 
of  our  civil  society,  appeal  to  her  for  religious  instruc- 
tion with  arguments  of  resistless  power  and  pathetic 


234  Sermons 

force.  The  Southern  church  is  now  solemnly  called, 
in  the  j^rovidence  of  God,  to  enter  yet  more  fully  into 
a  field  which  she  alone  can  occupy,  and  to  afford  to  the 
servile  and  dependent  class  of  our  population  the  salu- 
tary instructions  and  the  heavenly  consolations  of  the 
Gospel. 

Devout  regard  to  the  sacraments  is  another  impor- 
tant means  of  developing  the  life  and  powers  of  a 
church.  Teaching  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  sealing 
the  promises  of  the  covenant  by  sensible  signs,  they  are 
eminently  suited  to  impress  alike  the  understanding 
and  the  heart.  And  as  they  set  forth  more  clearly,  per- 
haps, than  any  other  ordinance  the  near  and  tender 
union  between  Christ  and  His  members,  a  believing 
attendance  upon  them  cannot  fail  to  lead  the  church  to 
a  more  realizing  sense  of  her  dependence  on  her  Head 
for  the  spiritual  influence  which  she  needs. 

Xor  can  the  church  be  indifferent  to  the  great,  the  all- 
important  dut}'  of  prayer.  A  faithful  attention  to  this 
eminent  means  of  grace  will  tend  to  preserve  her  from 
spiritual  declension,  to  foster  her  communion  with 
Christ,  to  draw  into  her  heart  the  saving  grace  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  to  invest  her  with  that  spiritual 
strength  which  she  needs  for  the  discharge  of  duty  and 
the  endurance  of- trial.  While  every  convocation  of 
Christ's  people,  on  stated  occasions,  is  a  meeting  for 
Avorship  including  prayer,  it  behooves  her  also  faith- 
fully to  employ  the  instrumentality  of  the  social 
prayer-meeting,  by  means  of  which  her  graces  will  be 
revived,  her  zeal  stimulated,  the  pulse  of  her  com- 
munion with  Christ  and  His  members  quickened,  and 
the  great  objects  of  petition  pressed  with  special 
urgency  and  importunate  pleas.  And  as  she  looks  out 
with  an  eye  of  pity  upon  a  world  lying  in  sin  and  rush- 


Girardeau  235 

ing  to  ruin,  let  her  raise  iinintermitting  supplications 
for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  the  ingathering  of  the 
elect,  and  the  inauguration  of  Christ's  long-expected 
reign  over  the  nations  of  a  regenerated  earth. 

In  giving  these  remarks,  necessarily  hurried,  on  so 
wide  a  subject,  a  particular  direction  in  reference  to  the 
topics  suggested  by  this  occasion,  I  feel  that  you  will 
concede  the  privilege  of  suggesting  a  few  thoughts  in 
regard  to  the  past  historj^  of  this  church,  to  one  who 
early  removed  by  Providence  from  the  rural  scenes  of 
childhood  found  in  this  venerable  sanctuary  a  new 
home,  and  received  from  the  hand  of  this  churclx,  as 
from  a  tender  mother,  the  bread  and  the  water  of 
another  and  a  holier  life.  Some  of  the  earliest  religious 
impressions  of  him  who  now  addresses  you  were  de- 
rived from  this  sacred  desk  and  from  him  who  then 
occupied  it,  and  who  has  since  in  the  good  providence 
of  God  ministered  in  it  to  this  auspicious  day.  Nor 
can  he  ever,  while  memory  has  power  with  its  magical 
wand  to  summon  back  the  past,  forget  the  restraining 
and  hallowing  influences  exerted  upon  a  youthful 
mind  by  the  faithful  instructions  of  the  Sabbath  school 
held  in  yonder  room.  The  tender  manner,  the  melting 
eye,  the  soft,  persuasive  tones  of  the  teacher  addressing 
his  class  in  the  fresh  hour  of  the  early  Sabbath  morn- 
ing, it  is  not  now  difficult  to  recall;  while  the  hearty 
words,  the  sonorous  and  melodious  voice,  the  warm, 
impassioned  and  affectionate  exhortations  of  the  super- 
intendent of  other  days,  identify,  among  the  clustering 
images  of  that  now  enchanting  past,  the  gifted  and 
eloquent  Vardell.  Time  rolls  on,  and  the  noble  form 
gi  a  college  classmate  and  friend,  where  every  grace 
seemed  to  set  its  seal  "to  give  the  world  assurance  of  a 
man,"  is  borne  in  the  slow,  funereal  train  into  yonder 


236  Sermons 

door,  and  deposited  in  this  aisle.  The  dirge-like  sound 
of  the  hymn : 

"When  blooming  youth  is  snatched  away 
By  Death's  resistless  hand," 

loads  the  atmosphere  with  the  burden  of  sadness, 
solemn  words  of  warning  to  the  young  are  spoken  by 
the  pastor,  the  affecting  service  is  concluded,  and  all 
that  remained  on  earth  of  Arthur  Robinson  is  placed 
in  its  narrow  house. 

"Alas !  he  is  dead, 
Gone  to  his  death-bed 
All  under  yon  willow-tree." 

There,  in  the  shadow  of  this  sanctuary,  in  the  same 
sanctified  bed  of  rest  with  those  who  gave  him  birth 
and  whom  this  church  delighted  to  honor,  he  sleeps 
well  until  the  awakening  call  of  the  descending  Savior 
and  the  thrilling  peal  of  the  archangel's  trump. 

Here,  too,  the  speaker  cannot  fail  to  remember  it 
was  that  three  of  his  nearest  kindred  w^ere  brought  by 
the  grace  of  God  to  feel  for  the  first  time  the  influence 
of  a  Savior's  dying  love,  and  two  of  them  to  profess 
publicly  their  faith  in  His  adorable  name;  and  that 
here  it  has  been  his  privilege  to  sit  down  at  the  com- 
munion table  with  those  whose  hands  no  longer  take 
the  touching  memorials  of  that  Savior's  death,  but 
moulder  in  the  silent  grave. 

Nor  can  he  forget  that  it  was  at  the  call  of  the  ses- 
sion of  this  church  he  felt  constrained,  though  not 
without  tears  and  pain,  to  leave  a  beloved  charge,  that 
he  might  minister  to  the  souls  of  the  colored  people 


Girardeau  237 

of  this  fold,  and  to  enter  more  largely  upon  a  field  of 
labor  that  appealed  to  him  with  all  the  solemnity  of  a 
divine  vocation,  and  in  which  he  would  fain  hope  that 
his  imperfect  ministry  has  not  been  unattended  with 
some  spiritual  benefit  to  the  sons  of  Ham:  nor  does 
there  now  arise  one  bitter  recollection  to  mar  the  pleas- 
ure with  which  he  looks  back  upon  the  period  during 
which  it  was  his  privilege  to  lead  them  to  the  sacra- 
mental board  which  was  spread  for  them  in  this  house 
of  God.  Affected  by  such  reminiscences  and  pervaded 
by  such  emotions,  he  cannot  now  feel  that  he  is  an 
intruder  within  the  sanctities  of  this  place  and  hour, 
but  would  rather  indulge  the  thought  that  he  is,  after 
a  sort,  a  member  of  your  spiritual  family,  and  would, 
in  comi^any  with  you,  on  this  propitious  and  festal  day, 
rejoice  at  the  tokens  of  signal  favor  with  which  a 
Covenant-God  has  freighted  the  past  history  of  your 
church,  and  assist  in  the  erection  of  an  Ebenezer-stone 
inscribed  with  the  record  of  the  Redeemer's  love. 

One  could  not  at  a  season  like  this  be  well-suspected 
of  flattering  or  of  indulging  in  the  phraseology  of 
empty  adulation  who  should  remind  a  church  of  the 
graces  which  have  marked  its  past  course,  the  faith, 
charity,  and  activity  wdiich  have  first  been  imparted 
as  divine  gifts  and  have  then  been  employed  by  the 
Spirit  who  inspired  them,  to  the  glory  of  God  through 
human  instrumentalities.  They  who  could  entertain 
emotions  of  pride  or  vain-glory  at  the  retrospect  which 
is  now  suggested,  would  be  seriously  wanting  in  that 
profound  gratitude  to  God  which  should,  on  an  occa- 
sion like  this,  be  the  j)ervading  sentiment  of  every 
heart.  The  very  purpose  of  a  commemorative  festival 
like  the  present,  implying  as  it  does  a  review  of  God's 
dealings  with  a  church,  is  to  rehearse  in  grateful  strains 


238  Sermons 

His  marvellous  loving  kindness  to  our  fathers,  to  rescue 
from  the  fading  recollections  of  the  past  the  incidents 
Avhich  are  sinking  into  oblivion,  and  to  construct  from 
them  a  many-stringed  harp  with  which  to  chant  the 
praises  of  sovereign  mercy  and  redeeming  love. 

Not  the  least  among  the  evidences  of  that  spiritual 
prosperity  which  has  been  graciously  bestowed  upon 
this  church  are  the  revivals  of  pure  and  undefiled  re- 
ligion which  she  has  been,  through  the  operation  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  permitted  to  enjoy.  Such  seasons 
are  points  of  light  along  the  track  of  her  history,  on 
which  the  gaze  of  memory  delights  to  dwell.  Happily 
for  this  church,  she  is  able  to  point  to  more  than  one  in 
which  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  the  subduing  influ- 
ence of  the  Savior's  love  were  conspicuously  displayed. 
Who  of  us  can  forget  the  wonderful  scenes  of  the  great 
revival  of  1846  ?  Springing  like  a  river  from  the  small 
and  hidden  fountain,  it  gradually  rose  and  swelled 
until  the  mighty  current  seemed  to  sweep  everything 
in  its  onward  and  impetuous  course.  The  hardest 
hearts  were  melted,  the  eye  unused  to  weep  poured 
forth  the  waters  of  penitence,  and  the  most  stubborn 
will  yielded  with  patience  to  the  Savior's  yoke.  Prayer 
meetings  were  multiplied  and  croAvded.  The  tongue 
of  the  dumb  was  loosed  and  prayers  and  exhortations 
spontaneously  gushed  forth  from  the  lips  of  the  sensi- 
tive and  the  diffident. 

The  sacramental  Sabbath — a  high  and  memorable 
day — arrived,  and  over  one  hundred  hopeful  converts 
crowded  those  aisles  and  publicly  professed  the  Savior's 
name.  O  glorious  days  of  the  Son  of  Man,  long  be  ye 
remembered !  Then  indeed  >Tas  this  Zion  a  Bochim  of 
penitential  tears,  a  birthplace  of  immortal  spirits,  a 
Bethel  of  near  communion  with  God,  a  vestibule  of 


Girardeau  239 

heaven !  The  remembrance  of  those  scenes  in  which 
the  wonderful  power  of  the  Spirit  was  displayed  and 
numbers  were  added  to  the  church  of  such  as  shall  be 
saved,  should  on  this  occasion  in  which  God's  dealings 
are  reviewed  awaken  special  gratitude  and  stimulate 
the  desire  and  the  prayer  that  the  exalted  Savior  would 
again  afford  similar  manifestations  of  His  grace. 

In  the  course  of  these  remarks  it  has  been  urged  that 
one  of  the  principal  elements  in  the  prosperity  of  a 
church  is  the  ability  and  fidelity  of  its  pastors.  In 
taking  a  retrospect  from  this  day,  it  cannot  fail  to  im- 
press 3'ou,  my  brethren,  as  one  of  the  chief  evidences  of 
the  favor  which  the  Head  of  the  church  has  manifested 
to  this  Zion,  that  He  has  bestowed  upon  her  most  freely 
His  choicest  ascension  gifts — evangelical,  efficient,  and 
accomplished  pastors.  The  candlesticks  of  this  sanctu- 
ary have  ever  been  supplied  with  pure  oil,  and  have 
continued  through  succeeding  years,  and  the  changes 
incident  to  human  labor,  to  burn  with  a  clear,  steady, 
undimmed  flame.  The  record  inscribed  by  gratitude 
and  affection  on  the  memorial  tablets  which  adorn 
these  venerable  walls  will  attest  to  generations  yet  to 
be  born  the  worth  of  your  departed  g-nd  now  glorified 
ministers:  but  there  be  many  now  here  who  need  no 
such  remembrances,  bearing  as  they  do  that  registry  of 
their  virtues  engraven  deeply  and  indelibly  upon 
"fleshly  tables  of  the  heart."  There  are  some  now,  per- 
haps, in  this  house  who  have  carried  with  them  through 
life,  and  will  bear  to  their  graves,  the  remembrance  of 
the  strong,  manly,  catholic  soul,  the  fervid,  bold,  and 
impassioned  genius  of  a  Flinn,  in  whose  ministrations 
it  were  difficult  to  say  whether  the  voices  of  Sinai  spake 
more  awfully,  or  the  pleadings  of  Calvary  more  melt- 
ingly;    and    under    whose    pastorate    this    new-born 


240  Sermons 

church  early  shook  from  her  vigorous  limbs  the  swath- 
ing bands  of  infancy  and  rapidly  rose  to  the  full  pro- 
portions of  maturity.  Honored  and  distinguished 
name !  It  yet  remains  impressed  in  lustrous  charac- 
ters upon  the  page  of  memory  under  the  watchful 
guardianship  of  love,  and  will  be  spoken  in  connection 
with  the  early  history  of  this  church  as  long  as  this 
noble  edifice  shall  stand. 

There  are  many,  too,  who  will  not  willingly  let  die 
the  recollections  of  the  polished,  elegant,  and  scholarly 
Ashmead,  a  prince  in  intellect  who,  guided  by  the  star 
of  Bethlehem,  brought  hither  the  gold,  frankincense 
and  myrrh  of  sanctified  genius  and  classical  culture  to 
lay  them  reverently  at  the  Savior's  feet ;  and  under  the 
magical  attractions  of  whose  speech  many  of  the  intell- 
igent and  cultivated  of  this  city  were  led  to  take  the 
place  of  stated  worshippers  in  this  sanctuary.  But 
another  form  rises  from  the  shadows  of  the  past  and 
presses  nearer  to  the  foreground  of  the  picture.  It 
wears  the  noble  mien,  the  graceful  carriage,  the  win- 
ning aspect  of  Charlton  Henry.  But  how,  in  fewer 
words  than  would  make  a  discourse,  shall  we  allude  to 
this  accomplished  and  devoted  pastor?  Versed  in 
theological  literature,  a  master  of  several  languages, 
possessed  of  an  acute,  penetrating  and  analytic  mind, 
and  characterized  by  all  the  qualities  of  an  impressive, 
pathetic,  persuasive  oratory,  he  covered  all  his  dazzling 
gifts  with  the  mantle  of  genuine  humility  and  laid  the 
plaudits  of  admiring  friends  with  cheerful  gratitude 
before  the  vSavior's  throne.  His  ministry  was  richly 
endued  with  that  greatest  of  all  pastoral  qualifications 
— the  unction  of  the  Spirit,  without  which,  it  Avas  the 
pious  Bernard's  wont  to  say,  reading  is  useless  and 
erudition  vain;  and  numerous  converts,  lured  through 


Girardeau  241 

his  instrumentality  to  the  Savior's  service,  bore  witness 
to  the  fervor  of  his  apostolic  spirit  and  the  gracious 
words  which  proceeded  from  his  lips.  In  him  was 
realized  the  beautiful  portraiture  of  a  faithful  pastor 
drawn  so  graphically  by  the  pencil  of  Goldsmith: 

"And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries, 
To  tempt  its  new-jfledged  offspring  to  the  skies ; 
He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
Allured  to  brighter  worlds  and  led  the  way." 

As  evidence  at  once  of  his  watchful  and  assiduous 
care  over  the  members  of  his  flock,  of  the  subtle  and 
analytical  power  of  his  intellect,  and  of  the  grace  of 
his  style,  let  me  advert  to  the  fact  that  he  has  left  be- 
hind him  another  legacy  than  the  force  of  his  fragrant 
example:  I  allude  to  that  masterly  treatise  contained 
in  his  "Letters  to  an  Anxious  Inquirer,"  a  work  which 
might  be  well  made  a  text-book  in  one  of  the  too  much 
neglected  departments  of  pastoral  theology,  and  de- 
serves to  be  ranked  as  a  sister  to  the  admirable 
"Sketches  of  a  Pastor,"  by  which  the  lamented  Spencer 
"being  dead  yet  speaketh."  In  all  the  qualities  which 
should  characterize  a  work  on  so  delicate  and  difficult 
a  subject,  these  letters  of  Dr.  Henry  stand  pre-eminent. 
I  have  little  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  will  bear  a 
comparison  with  the  better  Itnown  work  on  the  same 
theme  of  John  Angell  James,  which,  in  the  judgment 
of  candid  critics,  might  not  be  unfavorable  to  its 
merits. 

It  richly  deserves  a  more  extensive  circulation 
through  which  its  gifted  author  may  again  address  to 
inquiring  spirits  those  affectionate  and  judicious  coun- 
sels which  are  suited  to  guide  them  to  the  laiowledge 
of  salvation  and  the  attainment  of  everlasting  life. 


242  Sermons 

Like  his  predecessors,  Dr.  Henry  was  destined  in  the 
mysterious  pro\'idence  of  the  King  of  the  church,  to 
an  end  which  in  human  phrase  we  are  apt  to  term  un- 
timely. He  was  stricken  down  by  the  ruthless  and 
irreverent  hand  of  the  pestilential  angel  while  nobly 
laboring  for  the  comfort  of  his  people  amid  the  thickly 
falling  arrows  of  the  Destroyer.  It  is  within  the  mem- 
ory of  many  that  after  a  brief  struggle  with  disease 
which  closed  with  his  peaceful  and  triumphant  depar- 
ture, his  unexpected  death,  like  the  sudden  tolling  of  a 
midnight  alarm,  smote  the  heart  of  the  congregation 
and  caused  it  to  beat  with  a  fainter  pulsation;  that 
men  were  moved  by  the  feelings  with  which  they  are 
accustomed  to  look  upon  the  eclipse  of  a  great  lumi- 
nary, and  that  persons  of  differing  creeds  conspired  to 
mourn  the  extinction  of  a  light  which  had  shone  in  the 
religious  firmament  with  the  glory  of  a  morning  star. 
Beneath  that  aisle  over  which  their  feet  were  wont 
to  pass  to  this  pulpit,  the  first  pastor  and  the  last  who 
died  in  the  service  of  this  flock  sleep  side  by  side. 
Flinn  and  Henry  together  rest  in  death  in  the  bosom 
of  the  church  for  whose  welfare  in  life  they  had  toiled 
and  wept.  Together  they  will  arise  and  salute  their 
waking  people  at  the  morning  call  of  the  resurrection 
trump.     Above  their  ashes  no  monumental  pile  raises 

[Note. — These  remarks  in  reference  to  this  lamented  pastor  are 
founded  alike  on  traditional  recollections  and  the  statements  given  in 
an  exquisitely  written  memoir  from  the  practiced  hand  of  one  who 
knew  him  well — the  Rev.  Benjamin  Gildersleeve — who  supplied  this 
pulpit  after  the  decease  of  Dr.  Henry,  and  who  yet  lives  to  enjoy  the 
honor,  as  he  has  long  held  the  position  of  the  Nestor  of  the  Southern 
religious  press.  Identified  during  his  residence  in  this  city  with  the 
interests  of  this  church,  his  name  will  not  be  suffered  by  her  to  die  ; 
a  veteran  bearing  the  honorable  scars  of  many  a  conflict  in  the  cause 
of  truth  and  righteousness,  he  will  long  be  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance by   Christ's  people   in  this   land.] 


Girardeau  243 

its  stately  head  to  be  bathed  in  the  rays  of  the  rising 
and  the  setting  sun;  but  the  sanctuary  which  they  loved 
is  their  venerable  mausoleum;  the  feet  of  the  worship- 
pers who  frequent  these  courts  tread  softly  and  rever- 
ently above  their  honored  heads;  and  the  recollections 
of  the  sleeping  servants  of  Christ  mingle  with  the  emo- 
tions of  sacramental  services,  the  prayers  and  praises 
of  the  Sabbath  and  the  inspiring  hopes  of  the  heavenly 
communion  of  saints. 

It  would  only  remain  to  finish  this  allusion  to  the 
honored  roll  of  your  departed  pastors  by  adverting  to 
the  ministry  of  one  who,  for  about  thirty  years,  has 
labored  among  you  in  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and 
who  is  yet  continued  among  you  in  answer  to  your 
prayers.  But  delicacy  and  propriety  forbid  to  be 
uttered  what  justice  would  require  and  affection  would 
freely  dictate  to  be  spoken.  This,  however,  I  may  be 
permitted  to  say :  that  having  in  youth  sat  at  his  feet 
to  learn,  and  regarding  him  now  as  a  father  in  the 
ministry  whose  evening  shadow  has  begun  to  lengthen, 
and  whose  thoughts,  finding  daily  rest  in  the  heavenly 
world,  may  be  presumed  to  remove  him  from  the 
aspirations  of  earth,  I  may,  without  exposure  to  the 
suspicion  of  bandying  empty  compliment,  briefly  allude 
to  the  course  of  his  ministry  which  he  has  been  called 
to  fulfil  among  you.  You,  my  brethren,  would  not  on 
this  occasion  ignore  that  pastorate  as  one  of  the  many 
and  prominent  causes  of  the  thanksgivings  which  your 
hearts  now  gratefully  render  to  our  Divine  Lord  and 
Master,  and  as  one  of  the  most  important  elements  of 
that  efficiency  and  prosperity  with  which  this  church 
has  been  blessed.  It  were  sufficient  to  say  that  in  his 
ministry  the  dignity  of  this  pulpit  has  been  fully  sus- 
tained, and  that  in  his  hands  the  prestige  of  your 


244  Sermons 

'former  pastorates  has  suffered  no  loss.  Endowed  by 
nature  and  by  grace  with  gifts  which  eminently  fitted 
him  to  labor  in  the  pulpit,  on  the  platform  and  in  the 
deliberative  assembly,  he  has,  under  God,  acquitted 
himself  in  all  these  relations  with  distinguished  ability, 
usefulness,  and  honor;  while  by  the  unremitting  toils 
of  the  pen,  he  has  given  to  the  church  the  treasures  of 
a  vigorous  and  fertile  intellect  and  the  fruits  of  inde- 
fatigable study  and  patient  research. 

But  I  must  forbear  lest  modesty  should  rebuke  what 
rising  emotions  impel  to  be  uttered.  The  language  of 
just  and  impartial  eulogy  must  be  postponed  to  an- 
other day  when  he  and  most  of  us  here  present  shall 
have  fallen  asleep,  and  when  other  eyes  shall  look  upon 
scenes  akin  to  this,  and  other  tongues  shall  rehearse  the 
deeds  and  recall  the  memories  of  the  past.  You  will, 
however,  join  me  in  the  prayer  that  your  beloved  and 
honored  pastor  may  continue  to  exert  for  your  benefit, 
the  vigorous  powers  of  a  mind  whose  natural  force  is 
not  abated,  that  his  bodily  infirmities  may  be  healed  by 
the  power  or,  at  least,  assuaged  by  the  ministrations  of 
a  Savior's  sympathy,  and  that  for  the  edification  of  his 
flock  he  may  yet  be  detained  for  many  years  from  the 
last  removal  and  the  heavenly  rest. 

In  looking  back  along  the  line  of  these  faithful  pas- 
torates, it  becomes  impossible  to  estimate  the  amount  of 
good  for  time  and  for  eternity  which  has  resulted  from 
the  labors  connected  with  them.  Plow  inany  have  been 
rescued  by  the  restraining  and  conserving  influence  of 
a  preached  Gospel  from  crime  and  ruin  on  earth ;  how 
many  souls  have  been  snatched  as  brands  from  the 
burning;  how  many  immortal  destinies  have  been 
redeemed  from  the  complexion  of  despair;  what 
benign  and  salutary  impressions  have  been  made  upon 


Girardeau  245 

all  the  interests  of  the  community;  what  evils  have 
been  averted;  what  heavenly  and  incalculable  bless- 
ings have  been  brought  down.  All  this  it  is  impossible 
to  compute.  The  day  of  eternity  alone  will  reveal  the 
whole  case  and  disclose  the  accumulating  fruits  of  this 
unbroken  succession  of  able,  evangelical  and  efficient 
ministries.  But  there  is  one  obvious  result  which,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  has  flowed  from  them  to  this 
church,  which  demands  its  profoundest  gratitude  and 
its  highest  praise.  The  scriptural  purity  of  the  preach- 
ing and  instruction  that  for  fifty  years  past  have  been 
enjoyed  in  this  sanctuary  have  preserved  this  church 
from  the  dreadful  evil  of  doctrinal  defections  and  held 
it  fast  to  the  moorings  of  the  simple  Gospel  of  Christ. 
A  crucified,  risen  and  exalted  Savior  has  been  fully 
set  forth  as  the  only  ground  of  the  hope  of  the  sinner 
and  the  solace  of  the  saint.  The  grace  of  God  has  been 
magnified  in  opposition  to  the  wisdom  and  the  works 
of  men ;  and  the  expulsive  power  of  divine  truth,  taught 
in  its  purity  and  just  proportions,  has  been  evinced  in 
the  exclusion  of  those  rationalistic  and  radical  theories 
by  which  the  faith  of  so  many  churches  has  been  ship- 
wrecked, the  lights  on  their  altars  extinguished,  and 
Ichabod  written  as  by  the  hand  of  judgment  on  their 
walls.  Thus  has  this  noble  church  fulfilled  like  a 
planet  her  appointed  orbit  around  her  central  sun,  de- 
rived from  Him  her  light,  her  glory  and  her  warmth, 
and  dispensed  healing  in  her  beams  from  the  firmament 
of  eternal  truth.  Brethren,  lift  up  your  hands  and 
raise  your  voices  this  day  in  devoutest  thanksgiving  for 
this  inestimable  token  of  preserving  grace !  Let  it  be 
your  fervent  prayer  that  this  glorious  Gospel  may  be 
continued  to  you  in  its  unadulterated  efficacy ;  guard  it 
with  a  watchfulness  that  knows  no  slumber  from  cor- 


246  Sermons 

rupting  influences,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God,  when 
you  gather  up  your  feet  in  death,  transmit  it  unim- 
paired to  your  children  as  the  most  precious  legacy 
which  you  can  leave  them. 

While  alluding  to  this  subject  of  thanksgiving  due 
to  the  Head  of  the  church  for  the  faithful  pastors  by 
whom  this  church  has  been  served,  it  deserves  also 
to  be  noticed  that  not  the  least  of  her  causes  for 
gratitude  lies  in  the  fact  that  under  God  she  has 
been  a  mother  of  ministers.  Many  who  have  been 
trained  in  her  Sabbath  school  and  nourished  by  her 
maternal  discipline  have  gone  forth  from  her  bosom  to 
preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  There  exists 
scarcely  any  higher  theme  for  thanksgiving  on  the  part 
of  a  church  than  that  she  is  thus  enabled  to  communi- 
cate to  others  through  the  hands  of  her  sons  the  pre- 
cious boon  of  the  Gospel  of  salvation ;  to  sound  out  the 
word  of  the  Lord  to  other  and  more  destitue  parts  of 
the  country  and  of  the  world.  Some  of  these  heralds 
of  the  cross  who  went  out  with  the  blessing  of  this 
church  to  preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified  have  ceased 
from  their  labors  and  have  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus. 
Auld,  Logan,  Hughes,  and  Robert  Small  liave  fulfilled 
the  course  of  a  faithful  and  honored  ministry  and  have 
joined  the  church  triumphant.  Adger,  Turner,  Flinn, 
Stillman,  Miller,  White,  Corbett,  Buttolph,  Small, 
Dickson,  McCormick,  Danforth,  Waite  and  others  yet 
live  as  laborious  and  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. To  these  this  church  may  emphatically  point  as 
her  jewels,  and  with  them  she  will  doubtless  deck  the 
Savior's  diadem  on  the  day  of  His  coronation  in  the 
presence  of  His  elect  and  ransomed  church. 

I  will  be  pardoned  for  pausing,  in  this  connection, 
to  lay  an  humble  garland  upon  the  grave  of  a  beloved 


Girardeau  247 

and  sainted  friend.  William  N.  Carberry  was  one  of 
the  fruits  of  the  memorable  revival  in  the  year  1846. 
Having  passed  with  honor  through  his  academic  career, 
he  consecrated  himself  at  the  call  of  God  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  and  commenced  his  preparatory  train- 
ing for  the  sacred  office.  But  He  who  called  him  to  the 
work  and  tested  his  spirit  of  sacrifice  was  pleased  to 
remove  him  from  earth  ere  he  could  enter  upon  the 
holy  employment  he  had  elected.  He  peacefully  closed 
his  eyes  on  worldly  things  about  two  years  after  his 
conversion,  and  now  sleeps  in  the  adjoining  church- 
yard. His  was  one  of  the  loveliest,  gentlest  and  most 
devoted  spirits  whom  it  has  been  my  lot  to  know.  He 
declared  that  from  the  time  of  his  conversion  to  his 
last  illness  he  had  never  known  doubt,  but  was  blessed 
with  an  uninterrupted  assurance  of  the  love  of  God. 
One  of  the  Grecian  poets  says  that  "roses  are  pleasant 
to  the  gods."  This  lovely  spirit  which,  had  it  remained 
on  earth,  would  have  flowered  out  in  all  the  graces  of 
Christianity,  was  destined,  as  by  assimilation  to  a 
higher  life,  to  an  early  expansion  in  a  celestial  sphere 
and  a  not  premature  association  with  the  seraphic  min- 
istries around  the  throne. 

Thus  far  attention  has  been  chiefly  directed  to  the 
gifts  with  which  the  ascended  Redeemer  has  adorned 
and  enriched  this  church.  Suffer  me  now  briefly  to 
advert  to  the  manner  in  which,  through  His  grace, 
some  of  the  great  duties  of  Christianity  have  been  dis- 
charged. I  confess,  my  brethren,  that,  although  human 
nature,  even  when  pervaded  by  the  power  of  religion, 
is  prone  to  the  indulgence  of  pride,  and  that,  too,  in 
reference  to  spiritual  accomplishments,  there  seems  no 
impropriety  in  speaking  in  terms  of  encomium  of  the 
fidelitv  with  which  a  church  of  Christ  has  been  enabled 


248  Sermons 

to  meet  its  responsibilities  and  perform  its  duties.  It  was 
the  custom  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  to  allude 
in  terms  of  highest  eulogy  to  the  charity,  the  faith,  the 
activity  of  the  churches  to  which  he  ministered.  We 
cannot  err  if,  bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  Paul  re- 
ferred the  ability  to  discharge  all  duty  to  the  grace  of 
God,  we  follow  his  example  in  the  matter  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made.  One  who  would  undertake  to 
review  the  history  of  this  church  and  fail  to  observe 
the  steady  cultivation  of  the  leading  grace  of  charity, 
would  ignore  one  of  the  most  signal  features  of  its 
spiritual  growth.  This  grace,  under  the  tuition  of  the 
Spirit,  has  manifested  itself  in  various  forms  of  de- 
velopment, but  in  none  more  conspicuously  than  in  the 
sympathy  displayed  by  this  church  in  the  great  and 
Christ-like  work  of  foreign  missions.  This  result,  it 
must  in  candor  be  admitted,  is  chiefly  to  be  attributed 
under  God  to  the  faithful  instructions,  the  earnest  ap- 
peals and  the  unremitting  exertions  of  the  present  pas- 
tor of  the  church.  Even  the  children  have  been  edu- 
cated to  take  an  interest  in  this  blessed  cause  and  to 
contribute  in  early  life  to  its  advancement  on  the  earth. 
The  church  has,  in  consequence  of  this  training,  taken 
a  foremost  stand  among  our  congregations,  and  by  her 
example  has  furnished  no  mean  stimulus  to  the  growth 
of  the  missionary  spirit.  For  this  her  thanks  are  due 
to  Him  who  came  in  the  character  of  a  missionary  to 
our  fallen  and  wretched  race,  and  has  breathed  into 
her  heart  somewhat  of  His  own  compassion  for  the 
souls  of  the  benighted  and  the  lost.  Brethren,  let  this 
grace  abound  yet  more  and  more.  The  feeble  successes 
which  the  Gospel  has  achieved  in  the  dark  wastes  of 
heathendom,  so  far  from  discouraging  us  and  suggest- 
ing skeptical  objections  to  the  missionary  work,  should 


Girardeau  249 

present  themselves  as  the  harbingers  of  better  things, 
and  should  increase  our  prayers,  quicken  our  zeal,  en- 
large our  contributions  and  stimulate  our  love  and  pity 
for  the  dying  nations  of  the  earth. 

Nor  has  this  church  been  lacking  in  her  attention  to 
the  great  work  of  domestic  missions.  The  poor  and 
the  ignorant  have  not  appealed  to  her  in  vain.  In 
stretching  her  commiserative  gaze  over  the  broad  and 
destitute  field  of  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  she  has 
not  forgotten  the  needy  who  knocked  at  her  own  door 
for  the  bread  of  eternal  life.  She  has  bowed  down  her 
ear  to  their  necessities,  condescended  to  men  of  low 
estate  and  furnished  in  her  philanthropy  a  fresh  and 
conspicuous  exhibition  of  that  great  credential  of 
Christianity  signalized  by  the  Savior  himself — the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  Concurring  most 
heartily  and  promptly  in  the  suggestion  of  one  of  her 
own  sons — the  Rev.  John  B.  Adger,  who  had,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  disease  of  the  eyes,  been  constrained  to 
return  from  a  foreign  field  in  which  he  had  zealously 
expended  missionary  labor,  and  whose  sj^mpathies  were 
called  forth  by  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  his  native  land,  this  church,  through  the  con- 
certed action  of  her  pastor,  session  and  congregation, 
assisted  in  originating  an  enterprise  contemplating 
their  more  efficient  religious  instruction.  During  the 
feeble  and  struggling  infancy  of  that  enterprise  she 
nursed  it  in  her  lap  and  cherished  it  on  her  generous 
bosom,  until  it  had  attained  such  stature  as  to  warrant 
an  independent  establishment.  Nor  when  it  thus  passed 
from  the  immediate  shelter  of  her  arm  did  she  cease  to 
foster  it  by  her  efforts,  her  contributions  and  her 
prayers.  Freely  she  had  received;  freely  she  gave. 
And   whatever   of   efficiency   it   subsequently    has    at- 


250  Sermons 

tained,  must  be  mainly  ascribed  to  that  support  and 
encouragement  which  she  continued  to  yield  it  through 
all  its  darker  and  gloomier  days.  At  the  last  assize, 
when  the  rich  and  the  poor  shall  meet  together  before 
the  Maker  and  the  Judge  of  them  all,  may  you,  beloved 
brethren,  receive  the  rich  reward  conveyed  in  those 
words  from  a  Savior's  lips:  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye 
have  done  it  unto  Me." 

Suffer  me,  while  speaking  of  this  subject,  to  make  a 
grateful  allusion  to  one  in  whom  the  missionary  spirit 
of  this  church  was  conspicuously  manifested,  in  con- 
sequence of  whose  determination  to  devote  his  rare 
energies,  clear  judgment  and  compassionate  heart  to 
the  religious  instruction  of  the  negroes  in  the  Anson 
Street  congregation,  the  present  pastor  of  that  charge 
was  in  part  induced  to  assume  its  care,  under  the  an- 
ticipation that  anxiety  and  toil  when  shared  by  such  a 
spirit  would  be  deprived  of  half  their  pressure.  Alas ! 
the  hope  was  doomed  to  a  sad  disappointment.  At  the 
very  time  at  which  it  was  expected  that  he  would  com- 
mence his  labors  in  that  field  he  lay  stricken  down  in 
a  distant  city  by  a  fatal  malady.  He  never  returned  to 
gladden  us  by  his  presence.  There  he  fell  asleep  in 
Him  whose  care  over  His  dying  saints  knows  no  dif- 
ference of  place.  But  his  body  was  brought  to  his 
native  city  and  the  numbers  who  crowded  this  house  to 
render  him  the  only  remaining  tribute  of  respect  at- 
tested the  loss  which  the  community  had  felt.  A  true 
and  noble  heart  had  ceased  to  beat,  an  active,  strong 
and  generous  soul  had  gone,  and  the  city  and  the  church 
were  the  poorer  for  the  loss.  Fittingly  is  it  inscribed 
on  the  honored  tomb  of  William  Adger — "All  ye  that 


Girardeau  251 

know  his  name  say,  How  is  the  strong  staff  broken,  and 
the  beautiful  rod!" 

It  would  be  gratifying  to  notice,  also,  the  evidences 
of  spiritual  prosperity  which  have  manifested  them- 
selves in  the  tender  care  exhibited  towards  the  chil- 
dren of  the  fold,  and  the  colored  members  of  the  con- 
gregation. The  limits  of  this  discourse,  however,  must 
preclude  the  consideration  of  these  topics. 

I  cannot,  however,  close  these  remarks  without  allud- 
ing to  the  fact,  suggested  by  the  occurrences  of  the 
present  eventful  period,  that  it  is  one  of  the  offices  of 
the  church  to  throw  around  patriotism  the  sanctions  of 
religion.  The  voice  of  this  church  has  not  been  hushed, 
nor  has  it  uttered  an  uncertain  sound  in  reference  to 
the  momentous  questions  now  pending,  questions,  it 
appears,  to  be  discussed  by  the  sword  and  settled  by 
an  appeal  to  the  last  argument  to  which  governments 
are  wont  to  resort.  While  it  becomes  the  church  of 
Christ  to  pay  special  regard  to  the  spiritual  affairs  of 
men,  to  conserve  the  religious  interests  of  the  souls 
committed  to  her  nurture,  and  to  maintain  her  charac- 
teristic idea  as  an  institute  contemplating  their  pre- 
paration for  an  eternal  destiny, — she  may  not  overlook 
her  human  relations  nor  be  indifferent  to  those  civil 
questions  and  duties  which  affect  alike  her  own  well- 
being  and  the  very  existence  of  the  communities  whose 
benefit  she  seeks.  At  this  moment  her  offices  of  prayer 
and  counsel  are  appropriately  rendered  in  behalf  of  a 
country  whose  dearest  interests  are  threatened  by  over- 
weening arrogance  and  determined  hate.  A^^iile  our 
sons  and  brothers,  inflamed  by  the  fires  of  patriotic 
affection  and  impelled  by  the  very  instinct  of  self- 
preservation,  are  hastening  to  the  field  of  strife,  she  is 
called  to  stretch  her  hands  to  their  fathers'  God  and  to 


252  Sermons 

invoke  for  them  the  shield  of  His  almighty  providence 
in  the  day  of  battle  and  of  carnage. 

"While,"  in  the  words  of  the  eloquent  Robert  Hall, 
"while  they  are  engaged  in  the  field,  many  will  repair 
to  the  closet,  many  to  the  sanctuary,  the  faithful  of 
every  name  will  employ  that  prayer  which  has  power 
with  God;  the  feeble  hands  which  are  unequal  to  any 
other  weapon  will  grasp  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and 
from  myriads  of  humble,  contrite  hearts  the  voice  of 
intercession,  supplication  and  weeping  will  mingle  in 
its  ascent  to  heaven  with  the  shouts  of  battle  and  the 
shock  of  arms." 

Let,  then,  these  altars  be  surrounded  by  those  who, 
mindful  of  the  marvellous  protection  recently  rendered 
by  Providence  to  their  fellow-citizens  in  the  day  of 
exposure  and  peril,  and  profoundly  convinced  of  the 
justice  of  the  cause  for  which  they  are  contending,  lift 
up  their  hearts  in  mighty  prayer  that  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  may  go  before  our  people,  that  the  pillar  of  His 
presence  may  precede  them,  and  that  in  the  critical 
moments  of  conflict  they  may  be  encompassed  with 
chariots  of  flame  and  horses  of  fire.  And  above  all, 
remembering  the  numberless  casualties  of  war  and  the 
peculiar  uncertainty  of  that  life  which  our  brethren  in 
the  field  are  leading,  let  us  commend  their  souls  to  the 
mercy  of  God  that,  if  they  are  called  to  sacrifice  their 
bodies  in  defense  of  those  principles  for  which  they  are 
not  unwilling  to  shed  their  blood,  they  may  be  removed 
from  the  service  of  their  country  on  earth  to  the  still 
more  sublime  and  exalted  employments  of  the  celestial 
city. 

As  from  this  day  we  have  looked  back  upon  the  his- 
tory of  the  past,  and  have  discovered  in  it  abundant 
reasons  for  gratitude  to  God  for  His  providence  and 


GlEARDEAU  253 

grace,  let  us,  in  looking  forward  to  the  future  now 
frowning  upon  us,  commit  ourselves,  our  families,  and 
our  destinies  into  the  hands  of  Him  who  has  abandoned 
us  in  no  dark  and  stormy  hour  and  has  promised  that 
He  will  never  leave  us  nor  forsake  us.  Let  us  reflect 
that  there  are  sublimer  events  than  those,  however 
startling,  by  which  we  are  now  surrounded,  which  are 
hurrying  on  the  theatre  of  this  earth,  that  the  world  is 
hastening  to  a  more  awful  crisis  than  any  which  has 
mercy  of  God  that  if  they  are  called  to  sacrifice  their 
yet  impended  over  its  history,  and  that  the  church  in 
her  grand  march  through  the  dispensations  is  passing 
on  to  the  fulfilment  of  her  fondest  hopes.  In  company 
with  all  the  faithful  we  would  look  forward  to  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  even  our  Savior 
Jesus  Christ,  and  lift  to  Him  the  solemn  invocation : 
Come  quickly ;  Amen.    Even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus ! 

And  now,  beloved  brethren,  breathing  the  fervent 
prayer  that  your  honored  church  may  be  crowned  in 
the  future  with  even  greater  blessings  than  those  which 
have  marked  its  past  history.  I  would,  with  the  deepest 
respect  and  affection,  commend  you  to  God  and  the 
word  of  His  Grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up  and 
to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are 
sanctified.  May  grace,  mercy  and  peace  from  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost  be  multiplied  abundantly  unto 
you.    Amen. 


254  Sermons 


THE  NATURE  OF  PRAYER 

Luke  xviii,  1.  '"'■Men  ought  always  to  pray^ 

In  these  words  our  Savior  inculcates  the  habitual 
and  unremitting  discharge  of  the  duty  of  prayer.  He 
obviously  contemplates  it  as  of  importance  so  indis- 
pensable as  that  it  admits  of  no  suspension  or  serious 
interruption  of  its  discharge.  The  reason  of  this  is 
sufficiently  evident.  Prayer  is  a  duty  of  universal 
significance.  There  can  be  no  religion  without  it,  and 
the  degree  of  practical  piety  must  always  correspond 
with  the  extent  to  which  it  is  performed.  It  may  be 
said  to  be  the  prime  duty  of  all  religion,  whether  that 
of  nature  or  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Not  only  does  it 
possess  an  intrinsic  value  of  its  own  which  is  absolutely 
immeasurable,  but  it  is  the  essential  concomitant,  the 
necessary  stimulus  and  support  of  all  other  religious 
duties.  It  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  cultivation  of 
Christian  graces,  and  the  performance  of  legal  obliga- 
tions. As  it  is  passive,  it  is  the  grand  recipient  of  that 
divine  grace  and  strength  which  energize  the  soul,  and 
as  it  is  active,. it  re-acts  most  salutarily  upon  the  fervor 
of  religious  emotions,  is  positively  influential  in  the 
production  of  the  most  important  results,  and  power- 
fully propels  the  suppliant  in  the  path  of  spiritual 
obedience. 

Note. — The  five  following  sermons  on  prayer  were  delivered  late  in 
1865,  in  Zion  Presbyterian  Church,  Glebe  street,  Charleston.  A  note 
by  Dr.  Girardeau  says :  "Daily  prayer  was  pfEered  by  crowds  of 
worshippers  for  the  success  of  the  Confederate  struggle  In  conse- 
quence of  its  disastrous  result,  many  of  God's  people  were,  by  Satanic 
influence,  tempted  to  slack  their  confidence  in  prayer.  These  sermons 
were  an  humble  attempt  to  help  them  under  this  trial." 


Girardeau  255 

A  just  and  scriptural  consideration  of  this  vitally 
important  subject  can  at  no  time  be  inappropriate,  or 
suited  to  promote  other  than  beneficial  ends,  but  there 
are  certain  exigencies  in  the  experience  of  God's  people 
when  it  claims  more  than  ordinary  attention.  Espe- 
cially when  confidence  in  its  efficacy  has  been  weakened 
if  not  impaired  by  the  occurrence  of  afflictive  and 
disastrous  events  against  which  its  aid  had  been  in- 
voked, and  the  sneer  of  the  skeptic  is,  Where  is  now 
thy  God  who  professes  to  be  the  hearer  of  prayer,  it 
becomes  us  to  re-examine  its  nature  and  its  grounds, 
and  to  settle  afresh  our  faith  in  its  divinely-appointed 
force.  It  has  probably  struck  us  all,  my  brethren,  that 
under  just  such  circumstances  we  now  find  ourselves 
actually  placed;  and  anxious  as  I  am  to  accommodate 
the  ministrations  of  the  pulpit  to  your  present  necessi- 
ties, I  have  thought  it  not  inappropriate  to  take  up, 
in  several  discourses,  this  great  duty  of  prayer,  and  to 
endeavor,  with  God's  blessing,  to  indicate  its  nature, 
its  grounds,  its  spirit,  and  its  efficacy,  and  then  to 
answer,  if  possible,  the  objections  which  skepticism  or 
a  flagging  faith  may  urge  against  its  continued  dis- 
charge. And  I  am  impelled  to  this  course  by  the  pro- 
found conviction  that  we  need  all  our  religion  to  sus- 
tain us  now,  and  that  without  the  active  exercise  of 
prayer,  though  the  principle  of  religion  may  not  cease 
to  exist,  it  will  be  practically  dormant  and  inoperative 
either  as  to  the  performance  of  duty  or  the  supply  of 
consolation. 

Your  attention  will  first  be  directed  to  the  question. 
What  is  the  nature  of  prayer?  It  need  scarcely  be  ob- 
served that  prayer  has  a  wider  and  a  narrower  signifi- 
cation. In  its  wider  sense,  it  comprehends  the  elements 
of  adoration  of  God,  confession  of  sin,  and  a  thankful 


256  Sermons 

acknowledgment  of  the  mercies  which  we  may  receive. 
In  its  narrower  accej^tation,  it  is  simply  petitionary  or 
supplicatory  in  its  character.  In  this  point  of  view  it 
is  the  iDreferment  of  our  request  to  God  for  the  bless- 
ings Avhich  He,  and  He  alone,  is  competent  to  bestow. 
It  is  to  this  latter  aspect  of  it  that  these  remarks  will 
be  mainly  devoted. 

I  would  here  take  occasion  to  remind  you,  my  friends, 
that  there  are  certain  gi"eat  and  fundamental  truths 
which,  at  the  outset  of  the  discussion,  will  be  taken  for 
granted.  It  is  assumed  that  God  is,  and  that  He  is 
the  re  warder  of  such  as  diligently  seek  Him.  I  shall 
not  for  the  present,  at  least,  pause  to  discuss  with  the 
Atheist  the  question  of  the  divine  existence,  or  with  the 
Pantheist  that  of  the  divine  personality,  supposing  God 
to  exist,  nor  with  the  professed  believer  in  the  sole 
reign  of  naked,  abstract  law,  that  of  the  possibility  of 
prayer  as  addressed  to  an  intelligent  Being  who  is 
capable  of  communing  with  us  and  who  invites  us  to 
hold  communion  with  Him.  These  things,  which  it  is 
admitted  lie  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  subject,  must 
for  the  present  be  assumed  as  truths  which  are  con- 
ceded. Nor  can  any  fair  objection  be  urged  against  this 
course,  since  the  utterances  of  the  pulpit  are  simply  the 
reflections  of  the  deliverances  of  Scripture.  The  Bible 
does  not  elaborately  expound,  in  formal  shape,  the 
great  doctrines  of  God's  existence  and  personality.  It 
enounces  them  authoritatively  as  entitled  to  immediate 
reception,  and  ever  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that 
their  bare  enouncement  is  sufficient  to  call  forth  an 
affirmative  response  to  them  from  man's  essential  struc- 
ture, or  is  itself  an  adequate  revelation  of  their  truth. 
The  pulpit,  therefore,  is  entitled  to  assume  what  the 
Scriptures — its     sole     authority — always     take     for 


Girardeau  257 

granted.  This,  however,  will  not  debar  us,  at  a  future 
stage  in  the  treatment  of  the  subject,  from  comparing 
the  objections  of  the  skeptic  with  those  principles  of 
our  nature,  or  those  convictions  of  reason  which  are 
themselves  sanctioned  and  supported  by  the  Divine 
Word.  Conceding,  then,  that  God  exists,  that  He  is 
possessed  of  personal  attributes  which  render  com- 
munion with  Him  possible,  and  that  He  is  both  willing 
and  competent  to  answer  our  petitions  for  His  blessing, 
the  question  which  now  solicits  our  consideration  is. 
What  is  prayer? 

I.  In  the  first  place  it  is  clear  that  true  prayer  must 
include,  as  its  first  great  element,  the  offering  up  of  our 
real  desires  unto  God.  There  may  be  the  form  of 
prayer  without  the  desires  of  the  heart,  but  there  can- 
not be  true  prayer  without  them.  All  petition  sup- 
poses a  condition  of  want  which  requires  to  be  relieved. 
It  is  the  experimental  sense,  or  the  intellectual  convic- 
tion, of  need,  which  originates  desire.  The  hungry 
man  prays  for  bread,  and  the  thirsty  man  prays  for 
drink,  because  they  desire  them  to  supply  their  wants. 
He  who  is  not  hungry  may  ask  for  bread,  and  he  who  is 
not  thirsty  may  beg  for  drink,  but  as  the  petitions  they 
offer  are  not  prompted  by  desire  springing  from  a  real 
want  they  are  destitute  of  sincerity  and  are  not  worthy 
of  being  answered.  In  like  manner  the  wretched  man 
desires  happiness,  the  guilty  pardon,  the  impure  holi- 
ness, and  the  lost  salvation,  when  they  experience  in 
their  souls  a  want  of  these  invaluable  blessings.  But 
it  is  conceivable  that  formal  petitions  may  be  offered  to 
God  for  these  benefits  without  that  desire  for  them 
which  is  grounded  in  a  sense  of  need.  In  these  cases 
the  professed  suppliant  tampers  with  the  majesty  of 
God,  which  is  offended  by  his  insincerity ;  or  trifles  with 


258  Sermons 

the  omniscience  of  God,  which  he  must  all  the  while 
be  conscious  is  able  to  detect  the  hypocrisy  and  to 
unmask  the  pretence.  It  is  not  sufficient,  then,  that  the 
attitude  and  gesture,  the  look  and  tone  of  supplication 
be  assumed;  it  is  not  sufficient  that  a  certain  formula 
of  devotion  be  employed  in  accordance  with  the  de- 
mands of  custom  or  in  obedience  to  motives  which  are 
simply  mercenary  or  selfish;  it  is  not  sufficient  that  a 
clamorous  repetition  of  empty  words  be  used  under 
the  impression  that  the  Deity  must  needs  be  aflfected 
with  such  a  quantity  of  entreaty;  it  is  absolutely 
essential  that  the  real  desires  of  the  heart  should  urge 
the  prayers  which  we  offer  to  the  Giver  of  every  good 
and  perfect  gift,  or  all  our  petitions,  arrayed  though 
they  be  in  language  ever  so  sublime,  are  offensive  to 
God  and  barren  of  beneficial  results.  They  are  nothing 
but  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal.  It  is  then 
only  we  "draw  near"  to  God  when  we  come  with  the 
conviction  of  want  and  the  language  of  sincere  desire. 
The  heart  must  speak  or  the  ear  of  God  is  deaf  to  the 
voice  of  the  petition. 

II.  It  deserves,  also,  to  be  considered  that  the  desires 
which  we  experience  and  the  prayers  which  they 
prompt  should  be  for  things  that  are  agreeable  to  the 
will  of  God.  Otherwise  no  true  prayer  is  presented. 
It  is  hyprocrisy  to  ask  for  blessings  which  we  do  not 
desire,  it  is  presumption  to  pray  for  those  which  are 
contrary  to  the  divine  will.  If  the  objects  of  prayer  be 
unlawful,  the  prayer  itself  is  illegitimate.  The  will 
of  God  is  the  expression  of  His  holy  nature  and  per- 
fections, and  wherever  it  is  made  known  to  us  it  be- 
comes the  standard  of  reference  and  the  rule  of  action. 
It  is  evidently  possible  that  we  may  transgress  this  will 
in  our  prayers,  both  in  regard  to  the  things  which  we 


Girardeau  259 

seek  and  the  motives  which  suggest  our  petitions.  If 
either  the  reasons  in  which  prayer  is  conceived  or  the 
ends  it  desires  to  secure  are  contrary  to  the  will  of 
God  the  prayer  itself  is  intrinsically  wrong. 

The  objects  which  we  seek  in  prayer  are  of  two  kinds. 
They  may  be  either  spiritual  or  temporal,  and  the  rule 
which  has  been  indicated  will  apply  with  equal  force  to 
both  of  these  classes.  It  will  hardly  require  discussion 
to  show  that  in  those  cases  in  which  the  revealed  will 
of  God,  as  contained  in  His  Word,  is  transcended  by 
our  petitions,  they  are  not  conceived  in  the  spirit  of 
true  and  legitimate  prayer.  It  is  always  lawful  to  ask 
those  blessings  for  which  the  Scriptures  authorize  us 
to  pray,  always  wrong  to  seek  those  things  which  they 
forbid  us  to  desire,  or  the  supplications  for  which  are 
prompted  by  motives  which  they  will  not  justify.  The 
Word  as  the  expression  of  the  will  of  God  specifies  the 
things  for  which  we  may  properly  pray  and  indicates 
the  motives  which  will  meet  the  divine  approbation. 
To  ask  other  things  than  these,  or  to  pray  from  other 
motives  than  these,  is  to  be  guilty  of  impiety  in  our 
professed  homage  to  God,  and  to  make  worship  itself 
the  vehicle  of  sin.  To  seek  from  God  those  things 
which  He  has  plainly  told  us  we  ought  not  to  desire  is 
to  treat  Him  as  wayward  and  exacting  children  would 
a  father  whom  they  regard  as  too  weak  to  adhere  to  his 
own  will,  or  to  abide  by  those  rules  which  he  has  laid 
down  for  the  government  of  his  house.  Thus  far  all  is 
clear.  There  can  be  no  dispute  as  to  the  position  that 
it  is  wrong  to  pray  for  those  things  which  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  the  revealed  or  preceptive  will  of  God,  forbid 
us  to  seek,  and  that  those  petitions  in  which  this  is  done 
do  not  partake  of  the  nature  of  true  and  legitimate 
prayer.     Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  will  any  question 


260  Sermons 

exist  as  to  the  propriety  of  those  supplications  which 
the  Scriptures  authorize  us  to  present. 

There  is,  however,  another  aspect  of  the  will  of  God 
in  reference  to  which  the  case  may  not  be  equally  free 
from  perplexity.  A  distinction  has  been  drawn,  and, 
it  strikes  me,  validly  drawn,  between  the  revealed  or 
preceptive  will  of  God,  contained  in  the  written  word, 
and  the  secret  or  decretive  will  of  God  which  He  has 
not  thought  proper  to  disclose  in  the  same  formal  man- 
ner. It  sometimes  pleases  Him  to  indicate  this  latter 
aspect  of  His  supreme  will,  with  greater  or  less  dis- 
tinctness, in  the  procedures  of  His  providence;  and 
whenever  in  this  mode  it  becomes  definitely  known  to 
us  we  are  bound  to  pay  it  the  same  deference  and  ren- 
der it  the  same  obedience  as  we  yield  to  the  dicta  of 
His  written  word.  But  there  are  numerous  cases  in 
which  this  secret  will  of  God  is  not  distinctly  made 
known  to  us.  He  reserves  to  Himself  that  prerogative 
of  sovereignty  the  glory  of  which  it  sometimes  is  to 
conceal  a  thing.  He  is  not  under  obligation  to  give 
account  of  His  matters  unto  any.  As  the  ruler  of  the 
universe,  and  the  supreme  arbiter  of  events.  He  dis- 
poses of  all  things  in  accordance  with  His  own  secret 
pur^Doses.  Now,  we  are  bound  to  submit  to  the  decisions 
of  God's  will,  whether  they  are  revealed  or  not.  It 
cannot,  it  is  true,  become  to  us  a  rule  of  action  when 
it  is  not  revealed,  but  even  then  it  claims  our  profound- 
est  homage  and  our  most  implicit  submission.  It  ex- 
ists, though  it  be  not  made  known ;  and  as  it  is  eternally 
the  rule  of  the  divine  government,  we  are  under  obli- 
gation to  refer  to  it  all  our  states  of  mind,  all  our  acts, 
and  all  our  circumstances  in  life.  In  all  cases  about 
which  our  prayers  may  be  concerned  it  behooves  us  to 
refer  the  final   decision — the   ultimate  result — to  the 


Girardeau  261 

supreme  though  secret  will  of  God.  Let  me  endeavor 
to  illustrate  this  truth,  for  it  appears  to  me  to  be  one 
of  great  importance.  In  those  cases,  for  example,  in 
which  we  are  clearly  authorized  by  the  written  word  to 
otfer  prayer  for  blessing,  we  are  not  discharged  from 
the  obligation  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  decision  of 
God's  secret  will.  This  is  true,  I  conceive,  even  in 
reference  to  prayer  for  spiritual  benefits.  For  even  in 
those  cases  He  has  reserved  to  Himself  the  right  to 
answer  or  not,  and  the  disposal  of  the  time,  circum- 
stances and  mode  in  which  He  will  bestow  blessings 
when  He  sees  fit  to  grant  a  favorable  response.  We 
pray  for  an  increase  of  a  certain  grace  within  us.  We 
are  right.  But  it  is  for  God  to  decide  whether  He  will 
comply  with  our  request  as  to  the  thing  sought  or  as 
to  the  mode  and  measure  in  which  the  request  shall  be 
met.  We  pray  to  be  delivered  from  a  certain  tempta- 
tion. We  are  right.  So  the  Apostle  Paul  prayed 
against  the  thorn  in  the  flesh.  But  it  is  for  God  to 
decide  whether  we  shall  be  delivered  or  not.  It  is  some- 
times the  case,  to  go  still  farther,  that  God  calls  us  to 
do  what  He  does  not  mean  us  to  do  and  authorizes  us 
to  pray  for  blessings  which  He  does  not  intend  to  con- 
fer. He  called  Abraham  to  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac,  but 
He  did  not  mean  to  permit  him  to  perform  the  act 
itself.  He  tests  our  obedience,  and  at  the  same  time 
fulfils  His  own  wise  and  secret  purposes.  Paul  was 
authorized  to  pray  for  exemption  from  a  certain  form 
of  temptation,  but  God  did  not  intend  to  grant  him 
that  exemption.  He  gave  him,  it  is  true,  what  was 
better — His  sufficient  grace,  which  enabled  him  suc- 
cessfully to  resist  it.  He  accomplishes,  thus,  our  dis- 
cipline in  holiness,  and  works  out  concurrently  the 
behests  of  His  sovereign  will.     It  will  be  perceived, 


262  Sermons 

then,  my  brethren,  that  even  in  those  cases  in  which  we 
do  not  disobey  the  revealed  will  of  God  in  offering  our 
prayers,  they  must  still  be  presented  in  profound  sub- 
mission to  His  secret  will.  Our  blessed  Savior  Himself 
prayed  that  He  might  be  delivered  from  drinking  the 
cup  of  His  last  dreadful  sufferings,  but  meekly  referred 
the  decision  of  the  matter  to  the  sovereign  will  of  God. 
"Nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done" ! 

This  principle  will  go  far  to  solve  the  apparent  diffi- 
culty arising  frequently  from  the  nonfulfilment  of 
promises  which  on  their  face  are  limited  by  no  qualifi- 
cation. It  must  always  be  assumed,  as  a  tacit  condition, 
that  God  has  reserved  to  Himself  the  right  of  acting  in 
regard  to  them  in  accordance  with  His  sovereign  will. 
In  some  instances  the  limiting  circumstances  may  be 
plainly  gathered  either  from  the  Scriptures  themselves, 
or  from  the  course  of  God's  providence.  If,  for  ex- 
ample, one  should  now  pray  for  the  faith  which  enabled 
the  believer  to  perform  miracles,  he  would  fail  to  secure 
it,  though  the  promises  concerning  it  appear  to  be 
unqualified.  God  has  withdrawn  this  particular  gift 
from  His  church.  This  was  one  of  Edward  Irving's 
great  mistakes,  which  tended  to  cripple  a  ministry  of 
extraordinary  power. 

The  same  principle  ought  always  to  be  applied  to 
prayers  in  which  benefits  of  a  temporal  nature  are 
sought.  In  the  general  those  blessings  which  come 
under  this  class  are  promised  to  believers,  so  far  as  they 
may  be  needful  to  them.  The  Divine  Word  guaran- 
tees them,  and  authorizes  us  to  pray  for  them.  In  these 
cases  where  the  motives  which  lead  us  to  ask  them  are 
unlawful,  or  where  the  things  desired  are  themselves 
forbidden  to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  we  clearly  have  no 
right  to  pray.    In  the  other  instances  in  which  we  are 


Girardeau  263 

authorized  to  seek  them,  we  should  never  lose  sight  of 
the  great  fact  that  God  bestows,  or  does  not  bestow, 
them  in  accordance  with  His  holy  and  sovereign  will; 
and  in  the  event  of  their  not  being  attained  in  answer 
to  prayer,  it  is  our  duty  to  lay  our  hands  upon  our 
mouths,  to  refrain  from  charging  God  foolishly,  and  to 
render  implicit  and  unquestioning  submission  to  that 
will. 

And  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  there  are  many 
specific  forms  of  temporal  blessings  for  which  we  are 
often  led  to  pray  which  God  has  never  pledged  Himself 
to  confer.  He  gives  us  promises,  in  the  general,  and 
has  reserved  to  Himself  the  particular  application  of 
them.  In  such  cases  it  is  manifestly  our  duty  to  yield 
the  most  perfect  deference  to  His  decisions.  He  prom- 
ises that  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  but  He 
has  not  promised  that  this  or  that  particular  individual 
who  is  sick  shall,  through  prayer,  be  restored.  We  are 
authorized  to  pray  for  the  recovery  of  the  sick,  and  to 
believe  that  our  prayer  will  be  answered,  until  the 
providence  of  God  decides  adversely,  when  our  duty  is 
to  submit.  God  promises  to  deliver  His  people  who 
call  upon  Him  in  the  day  of  trouble,  but  He  has  not 
pledged  Himself  to  deliver  a  certain  individual  from 
what  he  conceives  to  be  evil.  The  martyr  is  authorized 
to  pray  for  deliverance  from  the  fire  and  the  stake,  so 
long  as  the  final  event  is  uncertain,  but  God  may  call 
him  to  testify  to  His  truth  and  to  prove  his  own  faith 
and  love  by  dying  in  His  cause ;  and  in  that  case  he  is 
bound  to  acquiesce  and  to  go  obediently  to  his  tragic 
end.  God  has  promised  to  uphold  truth  and  to  support 
right,  but  He  has  not  pledged  Himself  in  every  partic- 
ular conflict  in  which  truth  grapples  with  error  and 
right  with  wrong  to  render  truth  and  right  for  the 


264  Sermons 

present  triumphant.  He  may  siijffer  them,  for  wise 
purposes,  to  undergo  apparent  defeat,  and  to  be  ex- 
posed to  a  tempest  of  opprobrium,  oppression  and 
scorn.  In  these  cases  it  is  our  duty  to  sustain  ourselves 
by  the  consideration  that  God  does  His  will,  and  that 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right.  And  to  him 
who  thus  in  disappointment  and  suffering,  baffled  in 
his  hopes,  and  tempted  to  skepticism,  yet  honors  God 
by  a  meek  and  uncomplaining  submission  due  from  a 
sinful,  short-sighted  creature,  to  infinite  wisdom  and 
absolute  sovereignt}^,  it  will  in  time  be  made  conspicu- 
ously to  appear — as  clearly  as  the  flash  of  a  sunbeam 
through  the  fissures  of  a  dissolving  cloud — that  benefits 
were  withheld  for  the  bestowal  of  greater,  that  tem- 
porary suffering  is  but  the  prelude  to  everlasting  bless- 
ing, short-lived  disappointment  to  the  dawn  of  un- 
fading honor,  and  that  truth  and  right  go  down 
beneath  a  horizon  of  darkness,  and  an  ocean  of  storms, 
only  to  reappear  in  the  morning  glory  of  an  eternal 
triumph.  Jesus  as  an  infirm,  dying  human  being, 
staggering  under  the  curse  of  a  world,  prayed  that 
He  might  be  delivered  from  suffering  the  second 
death.  His  prayer  was  unanswered  and  He  died;  but 
His  grave  was  the  scene  of  death's  dethronement  and 
tlie  birth-place  of  unnumbered  millions  of  deathless 
souls  redeemed  from  Satan,  sin  and  hell.  Hold,  Chris- 
tian brother  I  Do  not  despair  because  your  prayers  for 
certain  blessing."?,  however  apparently  great,  have  for  a 
time  been  unanswered.  "\^liere  is  your  faith?  Where 
is  your  allegiance  to  your  almighty,  all-wise,  all- 
merciful  Sovereign?  Collect  yourself.  Put  on  the 
panoply  of  God.  Stand  against  these  troops  of  fiends 
that  would  dislodge  you  from  the  citadel  of.  your  faith. 
Look  up.     God,  your  redeemer  and  deliverer,  reigns.. 


Girardeau  265 

See,  He  sits  on  yonder  throne,  and  suns  and  systems  of 
light  are  but  the  sparkling  dust  beneath  His  feet. 
Thousands  of  thousands  of  shining  seraphs  minister 
before  Him.  Infinite  empire  is  in  His  grasp.  The 
sceptre  of  universal  dominion  is  borne  aloft  in  His 
almighty  hand.  His  eye  is  upon  His  afflicted  people. 
See,  see,  He-  comes,  He  comes,  riding  upon  the  wings  of 
the  whirlwind,  wielding  His  glittering  sword  bathed 
in  the  radiance  of  heaven,  driving  His  foes  like  chaff 
before  His  face,  and  hastening  to  the  succor  of  His 
saints  with  resources  of  boundless  power,  and  illimit- 
able grace. 

III.  Let  us  pass  on  briefly  to  consider  the  third  essen- 
tial element  in  true  prayer — a  thoroughgoing  reliance 
upon  the  atoning  merits  and  advocacy  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Prayer  is  a  duty  of  universal  obligation. 
We  are  bound  by  the  very  conditions  of  our  being,  as 
the  creatures  of  God's  power,  the  subjects  of  His  gov- 
ernment, and  the  pensioners  of  His  bounty,  to  render 
worship  to  Him  and  to  express  our  dependence  upon 
Him  in  the  form  of  supplication.  But,  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  sin,  it  is  impossible  to  see  on  what  natural 
grounds  we  would  have  a  right  to  approach  Him  with 
entreaties  for  His  favor.  Exiles  from  His  presence, 
condemned  by  His  law,  and  doomed  by  His  justice  to 
perpetual  exclusion  from  His  fellowship,  we  might 
indeed  roar  out  our  petitions  for  relief  from  our  misery, 
but  could  be  consoled  by  not  the  most  distant  hope  of 
audience  and  acceptance.  It  has,  however,  pleased  God 
to  bridge  this  gulf  which  separated  us  from  Him,  and 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  forever  impassable 
by  us.  In  the  mediation  of  His  dear  Son,  who,  being 
God  and  man  in  one  person,  was  competent  to  reconcile 
us  to  His  Father,  we  have  a  way  of  access  opened  to 


266  Sermons 

us  through  which  we  are  again  privileged  to  approach 
the  divine  throne  with  our  supplications  and  our 
prayers.  The  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  removes  the  guilt 
of  the  believer  and  pleads  for  his  acceptance  with  melt- 
ing accents  and  resistless  power.  To  offer  prayer 
without  a  reliance  upon  the  person  and  the  work  of  the 
great  Mediator  is  to  bar  the  door  of  audience  against 
ourselves.  Reliance  upon  His  atoning  merits  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  therefore,  to  the  existence  of  true  and 
effectual  prayer.  Having,  therefore,  brethren,  says 
the  Apostle  Paul,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  of 
all  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  let  us  draw  near.  And  let  it 
be  also  borne  in  mind  that  had  we  not  in  the  person  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  a  righteous  advocate  on  high,  a  mer- 
ciful and  faithful  high-priest  who,  having  passed 
through  the  heavens,  appears  for  us  in  His  Father's 
presence,  no  prayers  that  we  could  offer  would  rise  into 
those  holy  courts.  Polluted  as  we  are  in  our  persons 
and  defiled  as  we  are  in  our  best  services,  it  is  out  of  the 
question  for  us  to  approach  directly  to  the  throne  of 
the  majesty  on  high.  It  is  the  province  of  the  great 
Intercessor  to  offer  His  blood  as  the  reason  of  the  sin- 
ner's accepted  approach,  to  take  into  His  own  priestly 
hands  the  prayers  of  the  suppliant,  and  perfuming 
them  with  the  incense  of  His  glorious  sacrifice  to 
present  them  before  His  Father's  throne.  True  prayer, 
then,  my  friends,  involves  a  heartfelt  recognition  of  the 
advocacy  of  the  great  Redeemer,  and  an  humble  depen- 
dence for  acceptance  upon  His  availing  intercession. 

IV.  The  last  element  which  I  shall  mention  as  neces- 
sary to  the  existence  of  true  prayer  is  the  gracious 
assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Blinded  by  sin  as  we 
are,  we  would,  in  ourselves,  be  ignorant  of  the  objects 
for  which  we  should  pray,  and  be  unable,  did  we  know 


Girardeau  267 

them,  to  pray  in  an  acceptable  manner.  The  apostle 
teaches  us  that  it  is  one  part  of  the  condescending  and 
merciful  office  of  God's  blessed  Spirit  to  supply  these 
wants.  "Likewise,"  says  he,  "the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 
infirmities;  for  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for 
as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit  Himself  maketh  interces- 
sion for  us  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered." 
From  this  consoling  passage  we  learn  that  coming  into 
our  hearts  as  the  promised  "Spirit  of  grace  and  of 
supplication,"  the  Holy  Ghost  graciously  helj^s  us  while 
struggling  under  our  infirmities,  while  conscious  of  our 
unworthiness  and  ashamed  to  appear  before  God,  while 
vainly  endeavoring  to  collect  our  scattered  thoughts 
and  wandering  affections,  and  almost  hopeless  in  the 
effort  to  school  our  stammering  tongues  to  utter  the 
language  of  sincere  petition.  He  illuminates  our  souls 
with  a  knowledge  of  our  real  wants,  and  stimulates  our 
desires  for  that  grace  which  alone  is  able  to  relieve 
them.  And  then  remaining  in  us, — what  wondrous 
mercy  that  such  dullness  and  reluctance  to  pray  and 
proneness  to  sin  as  we  constantly  oppose  to  His  heav- 
enly offices  do  not  drive  Him  from  us  in  unappeasable 
anger ! — remaining  with  us.  He  responds  from  the 
depths  of  our  poor,  sinful  hearts  to  the  pleas  that  Jesus 
pours  out  for  us  in  the  heavens  and  makes  intercessions 
for  us  with  unutterable  groanings. 


268  Sermons 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER:   OR  THE 

MANNER  IN  WHICH  IT  OUGHT 

TO  BE  PERFORMED 

Hebrews,  x :  22.  ^'Let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  hearty 
in  full  assurance  of  faith^  having  our  hearts  sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience^  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water.'''' 

In  the  words  immediately  preceding  the  text  the 
apostle,  as  I  endeavored  to  show  in  the  last  discourse, 
indicates  the  gromids  of  acceptable  prayer.  They  are, 
first,  the  atoning  death  of  the  great  Mediator,  forcibly 
expressed  by  the  words,  '"the  blood  of  Jesus";  and, 
secondly,  the  presidency  of  Christ  as  a  great  High 
Priest  over  the  house  of  God  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
offering  of  worship.  And  the  warrant  which  we  have 
to  approach  God  in  reliance  upon  these  grounds  is 
derived  from  His  own  invitations,  commands,  and 
promises.  Your  attention  is  now  asked  to  a  considera- 
tion of  the  question,  A\Tiat  is  the  spirit  of  true  and 
acceptable  prayer?  How  should  we  pray?  In  what 
manner  should  we  attempt  to  discharge  this  all- 
important  duty?  In  answering  these  questions  I  shall 
follow  the  order  of  statement  observed  in  the  text. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  in  conformity  to  the  exhortation 
of  the  inspired  apostle,  we  should  earnestly  endeavor, 
in  all  our  prayers,  to  "draw  near"  unto  God. 

This  evidently  implies  that  we  should  avail  ourselves 
of  that  perfect  liberty  of  access  to  God  which  is  granted 
to  us  under  the  present  dispensation  in  consequence  of 
the  comi^leted  mediatorial  work  of  Christ,  and  His 


Girardeau  269 

prevalent  advocacy  of  our  cause  in  the  heavenly  Holy 
of  Holies.  In  the  whole  of  this  suggestive  passage  a 
contrast  is  drawn  between  the  restricted  worship  of 
the  old  economy  and  the  untrammelled  freedom  of  our 
approach  to  God  under  the  provisions  of  the  new. 
Not  that  it  is  by  any  means  implied  that  the  way  to 
God  through  prayer  was  unknown  to  the  saints  of 
the  former  dispensation,  or  that  there  were  not  con- 
spicuous examples  of  the  performance  of  this  duty 
before  the  advent  and  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Abraham,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  David,  Daniel  and  a 
host  of  others,  were  remarkable  exemplars  of  the  fervor 
and  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  Every  believer  during  the 
past  dispensations  of  the  Gospel  enjoyed  access  to  a 
prayer-hearing  God.  We  do  not  differ  from  them  in 
the  fact  that  we  can  come  to  God  in  supplication  while 
they  could  not;  but  our  state  is  discriminated  from 
theirs  by  the  consideration  that  as  a  result  of  the  accom- 
plished sacrifice  of  Christ  w^e  have  greater  liberty,  a 
bolder  confidence  in  drawing  near  to  God.  We  are  not 
now  admitted  into  the  holiest  of  all  only  after  the  lapse 
of  protracted  intervals,  and  upon  the  occasion  of 
solemn  and  national  lustrations.  We  are  not  deterred 
from  drawing  nigh  the  blood-besprinkled  mercy  seat 
by  a  veil  which  dripped  with  blood  and  a  glory  which 
forbade  the  approach  of  the  ordinary  worshipper.  We 
come  not  as  the  Israelite  did,  even  when  represented  by 
the  august  High  Priest,  only  to  the  symbols  of  the 
divine  presence.  Nor  are  we  obliged  to  conform,  as  a 
prerequisite  to  acceptable  petition,  to  the  requirements 
of  a  cumbersome  and  jjainful  ritual,  to  present  daily 
the  blood  of  animal  sacrifices  and  to  furnish  the  num- 
berless offerings  exacted  upon  pain  of  death  by  the 
rigid  statutes  of  the  Mosaic  institute.    On  the  contrary, 


270  Sermons 

we  are  privileged  to  come  unto  God,  to  approach  into 
the  holiest  of  all  every  day  and  every  moment.  No  inter- 
posed veil  stands  between  the  worshipper  and  the  inner- 
most sanctuary.  The  flesh  of  Jesus  has  been  rent  and 
the  veil  exists  no  more,  or  exists  only  as  an  open  door 
through  which  our  High  Priest  passed  into  the  heavens 
and  through  which  all  His  people  are  invited  to  enter 
with  Him — a  privilege  now  enjoyed  by  faith,  and 
actually  possessed  at  the  personal  passage  of  believers 
at  death  into  the  heavenly  sanctuary.  We  come  not 
now,  as  of  old,  into  contact  with  the  symbols  of  the 
divine  j^resence,  but  into  the  very  presence  of  a  gracious 
and  reconciled  God. .  No  blood  of  daily  sacrifices  is 
required  at  our  hands,  nor  need  the  smoke  of  the  morn- 
ing and  the  evening  oblation  ascend  to  God;  we  come 
through  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  which  was  offered  once 
for  all,  and  the  infinite  merit  of  which  opens  the  way 
for  the  advance  of  every  true  believer,  and  the  submis- 
sion of  every  true  petition.  What  an  extraordinary 
privilege,  my  brethren,  do  we  thus  possess !  A  privi- 
lege denied,  in  its  full  extent,  to  the  saintly  patriarchs, 
prophets,  and  servants  of  God  in  time  past,  but  now 
freely  granted  to  the  humblest  believer  in  the  atoning 
Lamb.  How  great  will  be  our  guilt  and  folly  if  we 
neglect  to  avail  ourselves  of  this  liberty  of  worship  and 
fail  to  draw  near  unto  God ! 

It  is  also  implied,  in  drawing  near  to  God,  that  we 
endeavor  to  attain  to  nothing  short  of  an  intimate  per- 
sonal communion  with  the  Father  of  our  spirits.  We 
have  seen  that  the  guilt  of  the  believer  is  fully  expiated 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  the  pardon  of  the  believer  is 
actually  secured  for  him  by  the  priestly  intercessions 
of  his  great  High  Priest.  God  is,  therefore,  no  longer 
an  unpropitiated  judge.    He  is  a  reconciled  God  and  a 


Girardeau  271 

tender  and  pitiful  father.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
style  by  which  the  Old  Testament  saints  addressed  the 
Deity  was — the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac  and  of 
Jacob,  but  that  that  emi3loyed  by  believers  in  the  New 
Dispensation  is — the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  "Go  to  my  brethren,"  said  Jesus  to  Mary  at 
the  sepulchre  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  '"go 
to  my  brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  My 
Father  and  your  Father,  and  to  My  God  and  your 
God."  "Blessed,"  says  the  Apostle  Peter,  "be  the  God 
and  Father  of  our  Lord  eTesus  Christ,  which,  according 
to  His  abundant  mercy,  hath  begotten  us  again  unto 
a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead."  Our  sins  estranged  us  from  Him  and  drove 
us  into  exile  from  His  paternal  presence  and  from  the 
tokens  of  His  fatherly  love.  In  Christ  He  is  recon- 
ciled to  us  and  admits  us  to  His  gracious  presence.  Our 
communion  with  Him  is  not  only  restored,  but  en- 
hanced and  enlarged.  "Truly,"  exclaims  the  Apostle 
John,  in  appreciation  of  this  illustrious  privilege,  "our 
fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  The  great  God  now  regards  us  as  children 
adopted  in  His  Son  and  beloved  for  His  sake.  As 
children,  therefore,  are  entitled  to  enter  into  their 
father's  presence,  to  invade,  so  to  speak,  his  very 
privacy,  and  to  come  before  him  with  filial  confidence 
at  all  times  with  their  petitions,  so  are  we,  my  brethren, 
authorized  to  aj)proach  our  heavenly  Father,  to  hold 
personal  communion  with  Him,  and  freely  and  fully 
to  present  our  prayers  and  make  known  our  wants. 
Nor  should  we  ever  be  satisfied  unless  in"  our  worship 
we  have  sensibly  attained  to  this  sacred  yet  intimate 
fellowship  with  our  God,  have  been  enabled  to  talk  to 


272  Sermons 

Him  as  children  to  a  parent,  and  have  thus  consciously 
realized  the  fact  that  we  have  drawn  near  unto  Him, 

In  connection  with  this  point,  it  may  be  remarked, 
that  drawing  near  to  God  supposes  not  a  perfunctory 
performance  of  prayer,  dictated  by  the  demands  of 
custom  or  a  cold  and  formal  sense  of  obligation,  but  a 
kindling  of  the  emotions  which  naturally  spring  from 
near  and  hol}^  intercourse  with  Him.  In  coming  near 
to  Him  in  personal  communion  we  are  attracted  by  His 
infinite  glory,  beauty  and  loveliness,  are  powerfully 
drawn  to  Him  by  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  love,  and 
secure  that  moved  and  elevated  state  of  the  affections 
which  renders  prayer  an  actual  joy-  and  best  prepares 
us  for  the  duties,  the  conflicts  and  the  trials  of  life. 
Without  some  such  experience  as  this,  though  the 
fundamental  elements  of  prayer  may  not  be  entirely 
absent,  we  fail  to  discharge  the  duty  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  entitle  it  to  be  described  as  a  drawing  near  of  the 
soul  unto  God. 

II.  The  second  element  in  the  spirit  of  true  prayer, 
which  is  mentioned  by  the  aspostle,  is  that  we  should 
come  to  God  "with  true  hearts."  There  are  two  things 
which  are  suggested  by  these  words :  in  the  first  place, 
that  in  prayer,  our  hearts  should  be  true  to  God;  and 
in  the  second  place,  that  we  should  be  true  to  ourselves. 

That  our  worship  should  be  acceptable  it  is  neces- 
sary that  it  should  be  that  of  the  heart.  It  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  heart  which  God  expects,  and  no  other 
language,  whether  it  be  that  of  outward  services  or  of 
words,  is  ever  acceptable  to  Him  except  as  the  medium 
of  His  own  appointment  through  which  the  heart 
utters  itself  to  Him.  Nor  is  it  only  the  worship  of  the 
heart  which  He  demands.  The  heart  itself  must  be 
characterized  bv  truth.    That  our  hearts  should  be  true 


Girardeau  273 

to  God,  it  is  essential  that  they  should,  in  the  prayers 
they  urge,  be  conformed  to  the  nature  and  perfections 
of  God,  to  the  relations  which  we  sustain  to  Him,  to 
the  requirements  of  His  word,  and  to  the  really  existing 
condition  of  our  own  souls  in  His  sight. 

It  deserves  to  be  considered,  then,  that  our  hearts  are 
true  to  God  in  prayer  when  the}^  recognize  Him  in  His 
spirituality  and  render  to  Him  a  spiritual  worship 
which  corresponds  with  His  nature.  "The  hour 
cometh,"  says  our  Savior,  "and  now  is  when  the  true 
worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in 
truth;  for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  Him. 
God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  wor- 
ship Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  It  is  not  so  much 
required  of  us  that  we  worship  in  this  or  that  place, 
in  Jerusalem  or  Samaria;  nor  that  we  employ  this  or 
that  external  mode  of  addressing  God;  what  He  does 
expect  of  us  as  absolutely  indispensable  to  any  worship 
at  all,  is  that  as  He  is  a  pure  and  intelligent  Spirit, 
our  spirits  should  hold  true  and  genuine  communion 
with  Him. 

It  ought  also  to  be  noticed  that  the  spirituality  of  the 
divine  nature  makes  it  requisite  that  our  hearts,  if  they 
would  be  true  to  God,  should  divest  themselves  of  those 
vain  and  unscriptural  imaginations  and  conceptions  by 
which  material  properties  are  attached  to  Him.  I  am 
not  unaware,  as  our  Savior  possesses  a  human  nature, 
and  that  nature  is  represented  as  being  in  a  certain 
locality  designated  as  heaven,  and  as  being  the  medium 
through  which  the  divine  giorj  is  manifested  to  the 
celestial  worshippers,  that  it  would  be  unscriptural 
and  extravagant  to  say  that  such  conceptions,  so  far 
as  they  apply  to  this  mode  of  Christ's  existence,  are 
illegitimate.    The  truth  is,  that  the  facts  of  the  case  and 


274  Sermons 

our  own  mental  natures  necessitate  them.  We  cannot 
think  of  Christ  without  associating  with  EQm  corporeal 
qualities.  But  what  1  would  urge  is  this,  that  worship 
rendered  to  God  as  God  must  recognize  His  spirit- 
uality, and  that  we  ought  to  labor  to  free  ourselves 
from  those  imagings  of  His  essential  nature  which 
degrade  or  limit  it  hj  the  ascription  to  it  of  material 
qualities.  When  we  are  privileged  to  draw  most  near 
to  God  we  feel  that  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being,  and  that  He  is  restricted  to  no  place  and  no 
material  forms  in  the  manifestation  of  His  presence 
and  the  exhibition  of  His  glory.  Of  course,  this  view 
of  the  spirituality  of  the  divine  nature  and  the  spiritual 
worship  which  truth  requires  will  exclude  all  impious 
attempts,  on  any  pretence  whatsoever,  to  frame  some 
material  image  of  God  by  the  efforts  of  human  art 
through  which  we  may  conceive  ourselves  better  able 
to  approach  Him  or  to  attain  the  sense  of  nearness  to 
Him.  Now,  as  of  old,  the  command  of  God  is  thou 
shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image :  thou  shalt 
not  bow  down  thyself  to  it  or  serve  it.  'Whatever  may 
be  pleaded  for  these  painted  or  sculptured  representa- 
tions of  an  immaterial  Being,  their  tendency  necessarily 
is  to  the  destruction  of  spiritual  worship;  and  the 
blinded,  fascinated  and  imbruted  faculties  lose  at  last 
all  capacity  for  true  and  heartfelt  worship.  These 
words  may  not  be  gratuitous.  Prophecy  informs  us 
that  the  time  is  coming — and  there  are  not  a  few  who 
think  it  not  far  distant, — when  these  old  and  settled 
principles  of  Protestants  will  be  brought  to  a  crucial 
test.  To  worship  the  image  of  Antichrist  will  then  be 
to  live,  to  refuse  it  homage  ^vill  be  to  die.  Haj^py  he 
who  will  consent  to  die  that  he  mav  forever  live ! 


Girardeau  275 

It  merits  our  consideration,  too,  that  in  order  that 
our  hearts  should  be  true  to  God  in  prayer,  they  should 
recognize  His  greatness,  majesty,  holiness  and  glory, 
and  worship  Him  "with  reverence  and  godly  fear." 
Liberty  of  access  to  Him  by  no  means  implies  that  we 
are  warranted  in  approaching  Him  with  thoughtless- 
ness and  rashness.  We  are  never  to  forget  the  great 
and  terrible  name  of  the  Lord  our  God.  He  is  iti 
heaven,  and  we  upon  earth ;  He  the  infinite  God  filling 
immensity  with  His  presence,  and  we  insignificant 
worms  of  the  dust,  debased  by  sin  even  unto  hell,  and 
dignified  and  ennobled  only  by  the  gracious  notice 
which  He  is  pleased  to  take  of  us.  His  glory  fills  the 
heavens  and  the  most  exalted  principalities  of  that 
celestial  state  approach  Him  with  reverence  and  awe, 
and  bending  in  the  light  of  His  majesty,  cry,  Holy, 
holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  God  Almighty.  It  becomes  us, 
truth  requires  it  of  us,  to  come  unto  God  with  pro- 
foundest  humility,  and  to  pay  our  homage  to  Him  with 
reverent  and  prostrate  adoration. 

I  remark,  further,  that  in  order  that  our  hearts  may 
be  true  to  God  in  prayer,  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should  be  characterized  by  sincerity,  and  be  free  from 
hypocrisy,  double-dealing  and  formality.  This  involves 
the  necessity  of  being  ever  deeply  convinced  that  our 
secret  motives,  intents  and  thoughts  are  open  to  the 
scrutiny  of  the  all-seeing  eye.  "Thou  God  seest  me." 
"O  Lord,  Thou  hast  searched  me  and  known  me.  Thou 
knowest  my  down-sitting  and  my  uprising ;  Thou 
understandest  my  thought  afar  off.  Thou  compassest 
my  path  and  my  lying  down,  and  art  acquainted  with 
all  my  ways.  For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue, 
but  lo,  O  Lord,  Thou  knowest  it  altogether.  Thou  hast 
beset  me  behind  and  before,  and  laid  Thine  hand  upon 


276  Sermons 

me.  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit  ?  or  whither 
shall  I  flee  from  Thy  presence?  If  I  ascend  up  into 
heaven,  Thou  art  there;  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  be- 
hold Thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morn- 
ing and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea;  even 
there  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me  and  Thy  right  hand  shall 
hold  me.  If  I  say,  surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me ; 
even  the  night  shall  be  light  about  me.  Yea,  the  dark- 
ness hideth  not  from  Thee;  the  darkness  and  the  light 
are  both  alike  to  Thee."  Were  we  always  properly 
impressed  by  the  truth  conveyed  in  these  striking  words 
of  the  Psalmist,  we  should  less  seldom  vitiate  our 
prayers  and  vacate  them  of  efficacy  by  the  insincerity 
and  hypocrisy  which  may  be  mingled  with  them.  It  is 
frequently  the  case  that  while  we  pray  to  be  delivered 
from  sin,  our  hearts  secretly  cling  to  it  and  are  reluc- 
tant to  give  it  up;  so  that  we  should  be  disappointed 
by  receiving  the  answer  which  we  seek  with  our  lips. 
And  not  only  is  this  the  case  in  specific  cases,  but  a 
secret  regard  for  sin  operates  to  the  destruction  of  all 
truthfulness  of  heart  in  prayer,  and  closes  the  ear  of 
God  against  our  petitions.  "If,"  says  David,  "I  regard 
iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me."  This 
is  a  species  of  insincerity  which  consists  in  pretending 
to  desire  what  we  do  not,  and  it  is  as  abhorrent  as  it  is 
patent  to  Him  who  desireth  truth  in  the  inward  parts. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  may  be  equally  guilty  of  insin- 
cerity by  seeking  from  motives  which  God  cannot 
approve  the  things  which  we  really  desire.  This  sort 
of  insincerity  is  designated  by  the  Apostle  James  when 
he  assigns  a  reason  why  some  of  our  prayers  fail  of 
receiving  an  answer,  "Ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  because 
ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your  lusts." 
It  would  be  interesting  to  inquire  what  motives  come 


Girardeau  277 

under  this  class,  what  prayers  are  thus  invalidated, 
but  the  scope  of  this  discourse  precludes  the  discussion. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  any  state  of  the  soul  which  consists 
with  a  love  of  sin,  with  an  indisposition  to  submit  to 
the  divine  will,  and  with  a  refusal  to  seek  the  divine 
glory  as  our  great  and  ultimate  end,  is  characterized 
by  an  untruthfulness  to  God  which  hinders  the  success 
of  our  prayers.  We  are  not  true  to  God  in  our  prayers, 
if  we  love  sin  instead  of  hating  it,  if  we  seek  the  grati- 
fication of  our  own  wills  rather  than  the  accomplish- 
ment of  God's  will,  and  if  we  desire  our  own  reputation 
and  advancement  rather  than  the  glory  of  God's  great 
name. 

The  exhortation  of  the  apostle,  it  may  be  observed  in 
the  next  place,  supposes  that  in  our  prayers  we  should 
be  true  to  ourselves,  both  in  regard  to  our  own  personal 
necessities  and  the  needs  of  those  who  are  related  to  us. 
This  implies  such  a  knowledge  of  our  own  state,  such  a 
conviction  of  our  own  wants,  as  will  lead  to  fervent 
earnestness  and  importunate  ceaselessness  in  pressing 
our  petitions.  It  is  evident  that  in  older  to  pray  as 
we  should,  we  ought,  in  some  degree,  to  understand  our 
necessities,  and  to  feel  them.  It  becomes  us,  therefore, 
to  examine  into  the  condition  of  our  souls,  that  we  may 
be  prepared  to  plead  with  God.  And  then  when 
apprized  of  our  wants,  we  should  not  be  satisfied  with 
merely  mentioning  them  at  the  throne  of  grace,  or 
coldly  asking  their  supply;  we  should  urge  our  suits 
with  fervent  earnestness.  We  have  eminent  examples 
of  this  manner  of  presenting  prayer  in  the  saints  men- 
tioned in  Scripture.  The  most  illustrious  case  is  that 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  who  is  represented  as 
having  spent  much  of  His  time  in  wrestling  with  God 
and  as  having,  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  offered  up 


278  Sermons 

prayers  with  strong  cryings  and  tears  unto  Him  that 
was  able  to  save  Him  from  death.  We  are  commanded 
to  ask  that  we  may  receive,  to  seek  that  we  may  find,  to 
knock  that  it  may  be  opened  to  us.  Truthfulness  to 
our  own  wants  requires  that  we  should  be  instant,  that 
is,  urgent  in  prayer,  that  like  Jacob  we  should  wrestle 
with  God,  and  like  Jesus  pour  out  our  supplications 
with  strong  cryings  and  tears. 

To  be  true  to  our  own  necessities,  furthermore,  we 
must  continue  importunately  and  unremittingly  to 
pray.  Our  needs  are  always  pressing  and  demand 
unceasing  prayer.  And  He  spake  a  parable  unto  them 
to  this  end,  that  men  ought  always  to  pray  and  not 
to  faint.  Like  the  poor  widow  in  this  parable,  we 
should,  in  spite  of  discouragements  and  delays,  of 
baffled  expectations  and  disappointed  hopes,  continue 
to  plead  our  cause  until  the  answer  is  in  some  form 
received.  Perhaps  there  is  no  one  duty  which  is  more 
frequently  inculcated  in  the  Scriptures  than  that  of 
importunate  and  incessant  prayer.  "Praying  always," 
says  Paul,  "with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the 
spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance." 
"Evening  and  morning  and  at  noon,"  says  David,  "will 
I  pray  and  cry  aloud."  Daniel  kneeled  upon  his  knees 
three  times  a  day,  and  prayed  and  gave  thanks.  "Con- 
tinue in  prayer  and  watch  in  the  same."  "The  end  of 
all  things  is  at  hand ;  be  ye  therefore  sober  and  watch 
unto  prayer." 

III.  In  the  third  place,  we  are  exhorted,  in  the  text, 
to  draw  near  to  God  in  prayer  "in  full  assurance  of 
faith."  The  aspostle  does  not  here,  as  I  conceive,  allude 
to  what  is  ordinarily  understood  as  assurance,  that  is, 
the  certain  persuasion  of  our  being  the  children  of  God, 
though    a    feature    of    Christian    experience    clearly 


Girardeau  279 

enounced  in  other  passages  of  Scripture  as  one  which 
we  should  labor  diligently  to  attain.  His  meaning  in 
this  place,  I  take  it,  is  that  in  approaching  God  in 
prayer,  we  should  repose  undoubting  reliance  upon  the 
death  and  intercessions  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  sufficient 
grounds  for  our  petitions,  a  childlike  and  unquestion- 
ing confidence  in  the  willingness  of  our  great  High 
Priest  to  present  and  of  our  Heavenly  Father  to  accept 
our  prayers,  and  a  firm  belief  in  the  promises  of  God 
to  answer  us  favorably  so  far  as  may  be  for  His  glory 
and  our  highest  good.  Doubt  upon  these  points  is  a 
hinderance  to  the  proper  performance  of  this  great 
duty.  The  limitations  which  God  may  see  fit  to  impose 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  His  promises  have  already,  in  a 
previous  discourse,  been  fully  suggested.  He  best 
knows  what  is  consistent  with  His  glory  and  the  wel- 
fare of  His  people,  and  He  reserves  to  Himself  the 
sovereign  prerogative  to  answer  prayer  in  accordance 
with  His  righteous  will.  But  even  in  view  of  these 
limitations — in  full  recognition  of  the  divine  sover- 
eignty, and  in  profound  submission  to  the  diAdne  will, 
it  is  alike  our  duty  and  our  privilege,  in  all  cases  in 
which  we  are  convinced  that  we  offer  petitions  which 
are  not  inconsistent  with  the  revealed  will  of  God,  to 
pray  in  full  assurance  of  faith.  This  duty  is  frequently 
inculcated  by  the  Savior.  "All  things  whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive."  "If 
ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall 
ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you."  The 
Apostle  James,  in  directing  us  to  pray  for  wisdom, 
bids  us  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering;  and  declares 
that  doubt  is  fatal  to  success.  "For  he  that  wavereth 
is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and 
tossed.    For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive 


280  Sermons 

anything  of  the  Lord.  A  double-minded  man  is  un- 
stable in  all  his  ways."  It  is  obvious  that  a  general 
rule  is  here  delivered  which,  although  applied  by  the 
apostle  to  a  special  case,  is  capable  of  universal  appli- 
cation. My  brethren,  we  are  conscious  of  infinite  guilt- 
iness, infinite  shortcomings,  and  infinite  worthlessness. 
Satan  infuses  doubts  into  our  minds  and  our  own 
hearts  tempt  us  to  skepticism.  Let  us  believe.  In  the 
blood  of  Jesus  and  the  intercession  of  Jesus  we  have 
sufficient  grounds  for  approaching  God.  Let  us  rely 
upon  them.  Our  great  High  Priest  and  righteous  ad- 
vocate is  willing  to  receive  our  prayers  and  present 
them  before  the  throne.  Let  us  trust  Him.  Our  recon- 
ciled God  and  Father  in  Christ  Jesus  is  ready  to  accept 
our  petitions.  Let  us  confide  in  Him.  To  doubt  is  to 
do  injustice  to  a  Savior's  work  and  the  dispositions  of 
a  Father's  heart.  Come,  let  us  draw  near  to  God  in  full 
assurance  of  faith. 

IV.  In  the  fourth  and  last  place,  the  apostle  encour- 
ages us  to  come  to  God  in  prayer,  "having  our  hearts 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies 
washed  with  pure  water." 

There  are  two  cases  in  which  the  heart  is  so  in- 
fluenced by  an  evil  conscience  as  to  be  hindered  in 
endeavoring  to  offer  acceptable  prayer.  The  first  is 
that  in  which  the  conscience  convicts  us  of  guilt,  accuses 
us  of  it,  and  reflecting  the  sentence  of  the  broken  law, 
condemns  us  for  its  existence.  This  necessarily  pro- 
duces a  timid  and  slavish  condition  of  the  soul,  which 
is  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  enjoyment  of  that  filial 
confidence  without  which  it  is  impossible  to  draw  near 
to  God  with  liberty  and  boldness.  The  blood  of  Jesus 
sprinkled,  through  faith,  upon  the  conscience,  satisfies 
its  demands,  silences  its  accusations,  and  annuls  its 


Girardeau  281 

condemning  sentence.  We  are,  in  consequence,  no 
longer  ashamed  or  afraid  to  come  unto  God.  The  blood 
of  Jesus,  as  the  apostle  says  in  another  passage,  purges 
the  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God. 
The  soul  is  no  longer  slain  under  the  curse  of  a  violated 
and  unsatisfied  law.  The  blood  of  atonement  applied 
by  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  has  rendered  it  a  living  soul. 
Its  works  are  consequently  living  works  and  suited  to 
be  presented  to  a  living  God.  In  coming  to  God  by 
prayer,  therefore,  we  should  labor  so  to  apprehend  the 
atoning  merits  of  Christ  as  to  be  delivered  from  an 
enslaving  bondage  to  an  accusing  and  condemning 
conscience. 

The  second  case  in  which  liberty  in  prayer  is  impeded 
by  an  evil  conscience  is  that  in  which,  through  the 
special  pleadings  of  a  perverted  understanding  and  a 
corrupt  heart,  the  conscience  is  deceived  and  induced 
to  tolerate  the  soul  in  the  secret  indulgence  of  sin.  So 
long  as  this  condition  lasts,  no  access  to  God  in  prayer 
can  be  enjoyed.  The  heart  regards  iniquity,  and  God 
will  not,  consequently,  hear  our  prayers.  The  blood 
of  Jesus  sprinkling  the  conscience  purges  it  of  its 
blindness,  clears  up  its  percej^tions  of  the  real  facts  in 
,the  case  and  leads  it  to  continue  its  rebukes  of  the  sin 
until  it  is  repented  of  and  forsaken.  The  defiled  con- 
dition of  the  heart  is  thus  removed,  and  liberty  in 
prayer  is  the  result.  We  should  draw  near  to  God, 
therefore,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil 
conscience  by  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

To  this  the  apostle  adds  the  necessity  of  having  our 
bodies  washed  with  pure  water.  Dr.  Owen  is  of 
opinion  that  the  allusion  in  these  words  is  not  to  the 
purification  which  is  symbolized  by  the  Avashing  of 


282  Sermons 

baptism.  It  may  be  that  it  is  included  in  the  idea  pre- 
sented by  the  apostle;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
that  was  not  its  chief  significance,  and  to  agree  with  the 
great  theologian  just  mentioned  in  supposing  that 
Paul's  meaning  is  that  in  coming  to  God  in  prayer,  we 
should  be  cleansed,  not  only  from  the  guilt  of  those 
secret  sins  by  which  the  heart  is  defiled,  but  also  from 
that  of  those  more  open  and  grosser  sins  which  the  body 
is  instrumental  in  committing.  The  blood  of  Christ 
applied  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  washes  us  from 
the  pollution  communicated  by  these  sins.  And  as  it 
is  necessary  that  in  praying  acceptably  we  should  not 
secretly  regard  iniquity  in  our  hearts,  it  is  equally 
incumbent  upon  us,  if  we  would  pray  aright,  to  resist 
the  solicitations  of  those  sins  of  the  flesh  from  which 
we  have  been  purified  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  and  the 
washing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  plain  that  allowed 
indulgence  in  such  sins  bars  the  way  of  access  to  God. 
Let  us,  therefore,  draw  near  to  God,  having  our  bodies 
washed  with  pure  water. 


Girardeau  283 


THE  GROUNDS  OF  PRAYER 

Hebrews,  x :  19-22.  ''''Having^  therefore^  hrethren^ 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  hy  the  hlood  of  Jesus, 
by  a  new  and  living  ivay,  which  He  hath  consecrated 
for  us  through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh;  and 
having  a  high  priest  over  the  house  of  God;  let  us 
draw  neary 

In  a  previous  discourse  the  question  of  the  nature 
of  prayer  was  considered.  I  endeavored  to  show  that 
true  pra^-er  consists,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  offering 
unto  God  of  our  real  desires  grounded  in  the  felt  con- 
viction of  our  wants;  in  the  second  place,  in  the  offer- 
ing of  our  desires  for  such  things  as  are  agreeable  to 
the  will  of  God,  as  are  conformable  to  that  will  as 
expressly  revealed  in  the  written  Word,  or  entertained 
in  profound  submission  to  it,  as  it  is  a  secret,  decretive 
and  sovereign  will;  in  the  third  place,  in  a  believing 
reliance  upon  the  atoning  merits  and  the  priestly  ad- 
vocacy of  Christ ;  and  in  the  fourth  place,  in  an  humble 
dependence  upon  the  gracious  assistance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  helpeth  our  infirmities,  teaches  us  what 
things  to  pray  for  as  we  ought,  and  maketh  interces- 
sions for  us  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered. 

Your  attention  on  this  occasion,  my  friends,  will  be 
directed  to  the  question,  "Wliat  are  the  grounds  of 
prayer  ?  What  is  the  foundation  on  which  it  rests,  and 
what  the  reasons  which  lead  us  to  hope  that  our  peti- 
tions will  meet  a  favorable  reception  and  result  in  such 
blessings  as  God  sees  it  for  His  glory  and  our  welfare 
to  bestow  ?  I  may  here  mention,  by  way  of  explanation, 
that  in  treating  the  question  of  the  nature  of  prayer, 


284  Sermons 

some  notice  of  its  grounds  was  taken,  but  chiefly  in 
reference  to  the  internal  exercises  of  the  suppliant,  as 
all  true  petition  necessarily  involves  the  reliance  of  the 
heart  upon  these  grounds  as  its  warrant  for  presenting 
it.  In  the  present  discourse,  the  grounds  themselves  of 
jDrayer  will  be  more  fully  and  directly  considered. 
What  are  they,  and  how  do  they  legitimate  our  access 
to  God  in  supplication? 

I.  In  the  passage  before  us  in  which  the  apostle 
affectionately  exhibits  the  warrant  of  all  acceptable 
approach  to  God,  he  indicates  the  first  ground  of  prayer 
as  being  the  mediatorial  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Having,  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  let  us  draw  near. 

The  inquiry  properly  emerges  before  we  proceed  im- 
mediately to  consider  this  point,  whether  acceptable 
j)ra3^er  may  in  any  case  be  offered  without  reference 
to  the  offices  of  a  competent  mediator?  With  the  Word 
of  God  as  our  guide,  I  cannot  see  how  this  is  possible, 
on  the  supposition  that  the  suppliant  is  a  sinner.  The 
ground  has  been  taken  by  some,  as  by  Lord  Bacon  in 
his  confession  of  faith,  that  no  creature,  however  holy, 
can  approach  God  except  through  the  intervention  of  a 
mediator.  "I  believe,"  says  that  remarkable  man, 
"that  God  is  so  holy,  pure  and  jealous,  as  it  is  impos- 
sible for  Him  to  be  pleased  in  any  creature,  though  the 
work  of  His  OAvn  hands;  so  that  neither  angel,  man, 
nor  world,  could  stand,  or  can  stand,  one  moment  in 
His  eyes  without  beholding  the  same  in  the  face  of  a 
mediator,  and,  therefore,  that  before  Him,  with  whom 
all  things  are  present,  the  Lamb  of  God  was  slain 
before  all  worlds."  In  this  view  some  eminent  theo- 
logians concur.  But  whatever  difference  of  opinion 
may  exist  upon  this  question,  it  cannot  be  disputed  that 


Girardeau  285 

the  Scriptures  definitely  teach  that  no  sinner  can 
approach  the  holiness  of  God  except  through  the  great 
Mediator. 

There  were  two  disastrous  results  which  were  accom- 
plished by  the  fact  of  sin :  in  the  first  place,  it  erected 
legal  obstacles  insuperable  by  the  sinner  in  the  way 
of  his  access  to  God ;  and  in  the  second  place,  it  effected 
a  deadly  change  in  his  own  spiritual  nature.     Both 
these  difficulties  obviously  require  to  be  removed  before 
a  sinner  can  approach  God  with  acceptable  prayer. 
In  order  to  achieve  the  removal  of  the  first,  that  is  the 
legal  obstacles  which  oppose  his  access  to  God,  he  must 
produce  an  adequate  satisfaction  to  the  divine  justice, 
and  an  adequate  reparation  to  the  divine  government. 
This  he  cannot  do,  for  two  reasons:  a  finite  creature 
cannot  furnish  such  an  expiration  of  guilt  as  would 
meet  the  demands  of  an  infinite  law,   and  a  guilty 
creature,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,   can  offer  no 
atonement  for  guilt,  which  could  secure  him  absolu- 
tion and  acquittal.     All  that  the  sinner  can  do  is  to 
submit  to  punishment  in  the  hope  that  it  may  event- 
ually prove  sufficient  to  expiate  his  guilt;  but  as  sin, 
by  reason  of  its  infraction  of  infinite  obligations,  is  an 
infinite  evil,  and  the  agent  who  performs  it  is  a  finite 
creature,  the  punishment  must,  if  inflicted  at  all,  be 
necessarily  eternal.     So  far,  therefore,  as  any  attempt 
on  his  own  part  to  remove  the  obstacles  which  hinder 
his   approach  to  God   is  concerned,  his  condition   is 
utterly  hopeless.     His  sin  has  reared  betwixt  him  and 
his  Maker  a  partition  as  high  as  heaven  and  as  deep  as 
hell,  and  no  effort  of  his  own  can  avail  to  take  it  away. 
Unless,  therefore,  a  competent  mediator  is  provided 
who  removes  these  gigantic  barriers  which  oppose  the 
sinner's  access  to  God,  his  prayers,  supposing  it  possible 


286  Sermons 

for  him  to  offer  them,  can  never  rise  into  the  ear  of  the 
Lord  of  Sabaoth.  He  has  no  warrant  in  himself  for 
addressing  the  offended  Majesty  on  high  which  is  not 
invalidated  by  guilt,  no  ground  for  prayer  which  is 
not  rendered  worthless  by  sin.  The  acceptance  of  a  sin- 
ner's prayer  on  the  part  of  God  involves  his  salvation ; 
but  salvation  cannot  be  obtained  except  through  an 
adequate  atonement.  Such  an  atonement  the  sinner 
cannot  furnish.  The  conclusion  is  that  he  cannot  offer 
acceptable  prayer. 

The  case  may  be  stated  differently.  The  very  first 
petition  which  it  behooves  a  sinner  to  present  to  God 
is  one  for  pardon.  Unless  his  inexcusable  guilt  be  for- 
given he  cannot  become  an  accepted  worshipper.  But 
forgiveness  cannot  be  secured  without  atonement. 
"Without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission."  As, 
then,  the  sinner  cannot  be  pardoned  except  on  the 
ground  of  the  expiation  of  his  guilt,  and  such  an  ex- 
piation it  is  not  in  his  power  to  furnish,  even  his  prayer 
for  pardon  cannot,  on  any  merely  natural  ground,  be 
accepted.  He  is  shut  up  to  reliance  upon  the  interpo- 
sition of  a  mediator. 

The  second  difficulty  which  has  been  mentioned  as 
opposing  the  presentation  of  acceptable  prayer  on  the 
part  of  a  sinner  is  the  fact  that  sin  has  effected  a  deadly 
change  in  his  spiritual  nature.  This  renders  it  impos- 
sible that  he  should  pray  aright  except  through  the 
influence  of  a  divinely- appointed  mediation.  Admit- 
ting the  existence  of  sin  as  justly  exposing  the  guilty 
to  the  divine  displeasure,  there  are  many  who  advocate 
the  opinion — and  it  is  one  which  seems  natural  to  a 
mind  unenlightened  by  grace — that  sincere  repentance 
will  avert  the  consequences  of  transgression,  and  open 
the  way  for  the  restoration  of  the  offender  to  the  favor 


Girardeau  287 

of  God  and  his  access  to  Him  in  prayer.  Penitence 
for  sin  is,  in  this  case,  the  ground  upon  which  prayer 
is  offered,  and  expected  to  be  heard.  Those  who  so 
smoothly  and  fluently  declaim  upon  the  benevolence  of 
God  and  His  willingness  to  accept  the  professions  of  a 
rej^entance  which  is  exercised  in  accordance  with 
merely  natural  principles  forget  what  the  Scriptures 
so  clearly  proclaim,  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  sinner 
to  repent  at  all,  except  in  consequence  of  the  applica- 
tion of  those  provisions  which  the  mediation  of  Christ 
alone  supplies.  The  very  first  effect  which  sin  produces 
is  to  entail  spiritual  death  upon  the  transgressor,  a 
death  which  renders  it  impossible  for  him,  in  his  own 
strength,  to  perform  any  spiritual  act  which  would  be 
acceptable  to  God.  "He  is  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins" ; 
and  as  repentance  is  a  spiritual  act  and  one  which, 
whenever  truly  performed,  is  acceptable  in  God's  sight, 
he  cannot,  of  himself,  repent.  Repent,  after  a  fashion, 
he  may ;  but  repentance  from  a  motive  which  God  does 
not  sanction,  and  in  order  to  an  end  which  God  does 
not  approve,  is  one  thing,  and  true  and  genuine  repent- 
ance is  quite  another.  And  so  the  sinner  may  pray. 
Most  men  pray  after  a  sort.  The  question,  however,  is 
not  as  to  the  possibility  of  some  natural  ground  of 
prayer  which  men  may  devise,  but  as  to  the  ground  of 
that  duty  which  God  authorizes  in  His  Word.  Now, 
we  are  expressly  taught  that  repentance  is  only  possible 
through  the  mediation  of  Christ,  which  opens  the  w^ay 
for  its  exercise,  and  provides  that  agency  of  the  divine 
spirit  which  alone  enables  the  sinner  to  produce  it.  As, 
therefore,  true  penitence  for  sin  is  impossible  apart 
from  mediation,  it  cannot  exist  as  a  natural  ground  for 
acceptable  prayer.  He  who  depends  upon  such  a  war- 
rant for  approach  to  God  must  find  himself  sadly  and 
bitterly  mistaken. 


288  Sermons 

Is  there,  then,  no  reason  in  the  nature  of  things,  aside 
from  the  mediation  of  the  Redeemer,  which  will  impart 
validity  to  our  petitions?  How,  then,  it  may  be  asked, 
can  any  man  who  is  not  a  believer  in  Christ  offer  prayer 
at  all?  How  can  the  unconverted  pray  with  the  hope 
that  their  petitions  will  be  answered  ?  To  this  it  might 
be  replied  that  even  the  ungodly  who  are  seeking  sal- 
vation may,  and  do,  pray  with  professed  dependence 
upon  the  mediation  of  Christ.  The  difficulty  may, 
however,  still  be  pressed,  that  if  they  are  in  a  state  of 
spiritual  death,  and  even  their  prayers  are  destitute 
of  spiritual  value,  it  is  inconceivable,  upon  the  view 
which  has  been  advanced,  how  their  petitions  can  be 
accepted  and  answered.  I  shall  endeavor  to  obviate 
this  difficulty  in  a  subsequent  part  of  the  discourse. 
The  exposition  of  the  doctrine  enounced  in  the  text 
will  lead  us  to  its  satisfactory  solution. 

Let  us  recur,  now,  to  the  position  of  the  apostle  that 
the  first  ground  of  acceptable  prayer  is  the  mediatorial 
death  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  that  we  have  boldness  to  enter 
into  the  holiest  of  all  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new 
and  living  way  which  He  hath  opened  for  us  through 
the  vail,  that  is  to  say,  His  flesh.  The  "blood  of  Jesus" 
is  but  a  striking  expression  for  His  atoning  death.  As 
His  blood  was  shed  unto  death,  and  the  law  declared 
that  without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of 
sins,  it  is  a  favorite  mode  of  statement  by  which  the 
apostle  evinces  the  fact  of  the  completed  sacrifice  of 
Christ  as  a  satisfaction  for  sin. 

The  influence  of  the  work  of  Christ  upon  the  access 
of  sinners  to  God  in  prayer  is  exhibited  by  the  apostle 
in  an  impressive  comparison  which  he  institutes 
between  the  old  and  the  new  dispensations.  There  were 
three  great  lessons  which  were  conveyed  through  the 


Girardeau  289 

sacrificial  ritual  of  the  Mosaic  economy.    The  first  was, 
that  God  is  a  Being  of  infinite  justice,  purity  and  holi- 
ness; that  acceptable  worship  can  be  presented  to  Him 
by  sinners  only  through  a  competent  atonement  ren- 
dered in  blood;   and  that  He  had  mercifully  made 
provision  for  the  offering  of  such  an  expiatory  sacrifice 
in  the  death  of  His  Son  to  be  afterwards  actually  made 
in  the  room  of  the  guilty,  and  which  was  shadowed 
forth  by  the  victims  daily  slain  in  His  courts,  and  daily 
consumed  upon  His  altars.     The  second  lesson  was, 
that  no  acceptable  worship  could  be  offered  to  God 
except  through  the  mediatorial  offices  and  worship  of 
a   divinely-constituted   priesthood,   a   fact  which  was 
most  solemnly  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  people 
through  the  awful  services  of  the  great  day  of  annual 
atonement,  when  the  high  priest  alone,  even  of  the 
priestly  order,  arrayed  in  His  sacerdotal  vestments, 
and  bearing  in  his  hands  the  blood  of  sacrifice,  and  the 
incense  of  intercession,  was  permitted  to  turn  aside  the 
bloody  veil  and  enter  into  the  holiest  of  all  to  make 
expiation  for  the  guilt  of  the  congregation  and,  as  their 
only  authorized  organ,  to  present  their  worship  to  God. 
The  third  lesson  was,  that  the  sacrifice  of  animals  was 
intrinsically   worthless,   and   derived    its   value   alone 
from  its  typical  relation  to  the  death  of  Christ ;  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  goats,  of  heifers  and  calves,  could 
not  in  itself  avail  to  take  away  sin ;  and  that,  therefore, 
an  impediment  existed  in  the  way  of  perfect  liberty  of 
worship,  and  holy  boldness  in  approaching  God,  until 
the  great  mediation  should  be  completed,  the  great 
atonement  offered,  and  the  great  intercession  prosecuted 
in  the  temple  not  made  with  hands. 

All  these  features  of  the  Jewish  economy  are  dis- 
tinctly intimated  in  the  passage  under  consideration, 


290  Sermons 

but  as  his  purpose  was  not  so  much  to  indicate  the  com- 
munit}'  as  the  difference  between  the  two  dispensations, 
he  dwells  more  particularly  upon  the  last.  He  shows 
that  the  new  is  superior  to  the  old  in  that  it  publishes 
the  actual  accomplishment  of  that  atonement  which  the 
latter  pointed  to  as  a  fact  to  come.  The  blood  of  the 
great,  the  only  intrinsically  efficacious  and  sufficient 
sacrifice  has  now  been  shed,  and  as  a  consequence  all 
sincere  worshippers  are  entitled  with  boldness  and 
confidence  to  draw  near  to  God. 

The  blood  of  Jesus,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  the 
atoning  death  of  Jesus,  is  an  essential  ground  of  prayer 
for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  it  effectually 
removes  those  obstacles,  arising  from  God's  nature  and 
God's  law,  which  forbade  the  aj^proach  of  sinners  into 
the  divine  presence.  We  have  seen  that  unexpiated 
guilt  bars  the  door  of  access  to  God.  Even  the  sinless 
worshippers  in  the  heavenly  sanctuary  approach  Him 
with  reverential  awe,  and  cherubim  and  seraphim  cover 
their  faces  with  their  wings  in  the  dazzling  light  that 
blazes  from  His  throne.  How  can  a  sinner,  blushing 
with  conscious  guilt,  confessedly  a  rebel  against  His 
law  and  a  traitor  to  His  government,  venture  without 
atonement  into  that  insufferable  presence?  The  holi- 
ness, the  ju'stice,  the  truth,  the  law  of  God,  all  conspire 
to  preclude  his  approach.  The  immutable  perfections 
of  the  divine  nature  and  the  irreversible  principles  of 
the  divine  government  lie  in  the  way  of  his  coming  to 
God,  and  he  who  dares  to  tread  that  way  walks  pre- 
sumptuously in  the  road  to  death.  These  difficulties 
are  removed  by  the  vicarious  death  of  Jesus  in  the 
behalf  of  sinners.  It  affords  a  complete  and  sufficient 
sacrifice  for  sin.  an  effectual  expiation  of  guilt.  It 
meets  the  uncompromising  claims  of  divine  justice,  and 


Girardeau  291 

satisfies  the  most  rigorous  demands  of  the  divine  law. 
It  renders  it  perfectly  consistent  with  His  changeless 
attributes  that  God  should  hear  the  sinner  who  sues 
for  audience  through  the  blood  of  Jesus.  The  cross  of 
Jesus  is  the  passport  of  the  guilty  into  the  reconciled 
presence  of  the  great  Judge,  the  name  of  Jesus  the 
countersign  which  admits  him  through  watch  and 
ward  into  the  palace  of  the  Eternal  King.  The  way 
into  the  divine  presence  is  no  longer  a  way  of  death. 
It  is  one  of  life.  Jesus,  says  the  apostle,  hath  conse- 
crated for  us  a  new  and  living  way  through  the  veil, 
that  is  to  say.  His  flesh.  Let  us  dwell  a  moment  on  the 
significance  of  these  words  as  they  furnish  an  impres- 
sive though  symbolical  representation  of  the  great 
truth  which  I  am  endeavoring  to  expound.  In  the 
arrangement  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle  and  temple  there 
w^as  a  threefold  distribution  of  place.  First  there  was 
the  outer  court  occupied  by  the  congregation,  in  which 
was  the  altar  of  sacrifice ;  next  the  sanctuary,  in  which 
the  altar  of  incense  stood,  and  lastly,  the  holy  of  holies, 
or  the  most  holy  place,  in  which  was  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  the  mercy-seat,  overshadowed  by  cherubim, 
and  the  awful  symbols  of  the  divine  presence.  There 
was  the  luminous  cloud  of  the  Shechinah  which 
attested  the  glorious  holiness  of  a  present  Deity.  Be- 
tween the  holy  of  holies  and  the  sanctuary  was  inter- 
posed a  heavy  veil  which,  by  divine  statute,  was  kept 
continually  saturated  with  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices. 
None  dared  to  put  aside  that  awful  barrier  to  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God  but  the  high  priest  himself. 
Even  he  ventured  not  to  do  it  but  when  he  was  ex- 
pressly commanded,  and  that  only  once  a  year  on  the 
day  of  national  atonement.  To  have  done  it  at  any 
other  time  would  have  been  instant  death  to  him.    And 


292  Sermons 

when,  in  accordance  with  the  requirement  of  the  law, 
he  took  in  his  priestly  hands  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  • 
and  the  smoking  incense,  and  reverently  and  trem- 
blingly turned  aside  the  sacred  veil  to  enter  into  the 
innermost  sanctuary  and  ajDpear  before  God,  none  of  the 
priests,  Levites  6r  people  dared  to  follow  him  thither. 
The  radiant  cloud  would  have  flashed  vengefully  into 
their  faces,  and  the  bolts  of  divine  wrath  would  have 
leaped  from  its  flaming  bosom  to  check  their  presump- 
tuous rashness  by  condign  death.  So  long  as  the  veil 
remained  unrent,  liberty  of  approach  into  the  presence 
of  God  was  denied  to  the  worshipper.  This  signifi- 
cantly inculcated  the  lesson  that  so  long  as  the  flesh  of 
Jesus  was  unrent,  that  is,  while  the  death  of  Jesus  was 
not  an  accomplished  fact,  boldness  of  access  to  God 
could  not  be  the  privilege  of  the  sinner.  The  rending 
of  the  flesh  of  Jesus,  or,  in  other  words.  His  atoning 
death,  removed  the  obstacles  which  lay  in  the  way  of 
the  worshipper's  drawing  near  to  God.  The  veil  which 
had  separated  the  heavenly  holy  of  holies  from  the 
sanctuary  and  outer  courts  on  earth  is  now  rent,  and 
through  it,  as  through  an  ever-open  door,  the  vilest 
sinner  who  trusts  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  is  invited  to 
enter  with  his  petitions  into  the  immediate  presence 
of  God.  The  Deity  is  there,  but  He  is  a  propitiated 
and  reconciled  God.  The  Shechinah  is  there,  but  it  no 
longer  flashes  its  lightnings  into  the  face  of  the  ap- 
proaching suppliant. 

"No  fiery  vengeance  now. 

No  burning  wrath  comes  down"; 
"No  bolts  to  drive  our  guilty  souls 
To  fiercer  flames  below." 


Girardeau  293 

Another  reason  which  may  be  briefly  mentioned  for 
the  fact  that  the  atoning  death  of  Jesus  is  a  ground  of 
prayer  lies  in  the  consideration  that  it  properly  merits 
a  hearing  for  the  petitions  of  those  who  trust  in  Him. 
The  co-presence  of  His  divine  nature  with  His  human 
rendered  His  sacrifice  of  Himself  infinitely  valuable 
and  meritorious.  He  through  the  eternal  Spirit,  says 
the  apostle,  offered  Himself  without  spot  to  God.  His 
divine  nature  was  the  altar  Avhich  sustained  the  gift 
of  His  human  nature  and  sanctified  it  to  the  great  end 
for  which  it  was  sacrificed.  The  prayers  of  the  believer, 
though  worthless  in  themselves,  are,  when  laid  upon 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  sanctified  by  the  same  altar. 
The  infinite  merits  of  the  atonement  of  Jesus  impart 
worth  and  dignity  to  his  petitions,  purchase  for  them 
audience  Avith  God,  and  lend  them  their  own  rich  per- 
fume as  they  ascend  before  the  throne  of  grace. 

II.  The  second  ground  of  prayer  which  the  apostle 
instances  is  the  fact  that  we  have  a  great  High  Priest 
over  the  house  of  God.  Jesus  presides  over  the  house 
of  God  in  all  the  arrangements  which  contemplate  the 
offering  of  worship.  He  is  the  public  organ  of  the 
church  through  whom  all  her  worship  of  God  is  con- 
ducted. And  as  it  is  necessary  that  one  who  discharges 
this  high  office  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of  sinners 
should  be  a  priest  whose  distinctive  province  it  is  to 
render  worship  by  sacrifice,  Jesus,  as  our  great  Priest, 
first  offered  worship  in  His  own  person  by  the  volun- 
tary sacrifice  of  Himself  upon  the  cross,  and  continues 
now  in  the  heavens,  through  the  same  medium,  to  urge 
His  sacerdotal  pleas,  and  to  present  before  His  Father's 
throne  the  homage,  the  prayers  and  the  praises  of 
His  people.  There  are  several  ends  which  are  accom- 
plished by  the  priestly  presidency  of  Jesus  over  the 


294  Sermons 

house  of  God,  which  render  it  one  of  the  grounds  of 
acceptable  prayer.  In  the  first  place,  by  His  inter- 
cessions. He  actually  procures  for  sinners  that  pardon 
without  which  no  available  petition  can  be  urged.  He 
presents  in  the  holiest  of  all  the  proofs  of  His  atoning 
sacrifice,  and  the  evidences  of  His  completed  media- 
torial work.  As  it  was  necessary  that  He  should  have 
somewhat  to  offer.  He  appears  in  the  heavenly  sanctu- 
ary not  without  blood.  He  shows  His  wounded  hands 
and  feet  and  side,  and  by  these  alffecting  memorials  of 
Calvary  pleads  for  the  pardon  and  salvation  of  the 
guilty  and  the  lost.  Faithful  to  His  promise  to  His 
Son,  and  ever  ready  to  hear  the  prayers  of  this.  His 
anointed  One,  the  Father  puts  into  His  hands  the  par- 
don which  He  seeks,  to  be  dispensed  by  Him  to  those 
for  whom  He  died.  The  death  of  Christ  had  removed 
the  obstacles  that  opposed  the  forgiveness  of  the  sinner, 
and  His  intercessory  work  as  the  complement  of  His 
atonement  actually  obtains  it  for  His  people. 

In  the  second  place,  as  the  public  organ  of  worship. 
He  is  the  only  medium  through  whom  the  prayers  of 
sinners  can  reach  the  Majesty  on  high.  He  presides 
over  the  throne  of  grace  sprinkled  with  His  own  aton- 
ing blood  and  receives  the  prayers  of  those  who  come 
unto  God  by  Him.  Attaching  to  them,  intrinsically 
worthless  as  they  are,  the  infinite  merits  of  His  sacri- 
fice and  adding  to  them  His  own  prevalent  interces- 
sions, He  offers  them  as  incense  before  His  Father's 
throne.  It  is  thus,  my  brethren,  our  prayers  are  heard. 
It  is  not  so  much  we  who  pray  as  Jesus  our  High  Priest 
who  prays  for  us.  It  is  not  in  ourselves  that  we  pre- 
vail with  God,  it  is  Jesus  who  prevails  with  Him  in  our 
poor  name,  and  for  our  poor  sake.  It  is  this  that  gives 
us  heart  to  persevere  in  prayer.    It  is  this  that  saves  us 


Girardeau  295 

from  despair.  We  are  so  conscious  that  our  prayers  are 
marred  by  weakness,  carnality  and  sin,  that  we  should 
abandon  the  attempt  to  offer  them  at  all  were  we  not 
supported  by  the  conviction  that  they  are  received  by 
our  great  and  merciful  High  Priest,  that  they  are 
presented  by  His  hands,  seconded  by  His  merits,  and 
enforced  by  His  pleas. 

It  may  be  added  to  these  considerations  that  the 
intercessions  of  Him  who  presides  over  the  house  of 
God  procure  for  us  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  whom  we  are  incited  to  pray,  and  taught  how  to 
pray  and  what  things  to  pray  for;  who  intercedes  for 
the  saints  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  makes  inter- 
cessions within  us  with  unutterable  groanings.  We 
are  privileged  to  plead  with  God  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  His  own  blessed  Spirit  indites  our  petitions,  and 
that,  being  thus  prompted,  they  are  according  to  His 
mind. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  meet  the  difficulty  suggested 
in  a  previous  part  of  this  discourse,  how,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  the  mediation  of  Christ  is  essential  to 
the  offering  of  acceptable  prayer,  and  that  the  unre- 
generate  who  are  spiritually  dead  and,  therefore, 
incapable  of  rendering  spiritual  worship  to  God,  are 
not  only  under  obligation  to  pray,  but  are  led  earnestly 
to  pray  and  receive  a  gracious  answer  to  their  prayers. 
The  explanation  is  that  Jesus,  the  great  High  Priest, 
presents  His  blood  in  their  behalf,  sues  out  pardon  for 
them  by  His  aA^ailing  intercessions,  and  secures  for 
them  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who,  coming,  in  the 
first  instance,  not  in  answer  to  their  prayers,  but  to  the 
prayers  of  the  great  Mediator,  awakens  in  them  a  sense 
of  their  spiritual  wants,  impels  them  to  pray  for  divine 
help,  and  enables  them  while  struggling  in  supplica- 
tion to  believe  in  the  person  and  trust  in  the  merits  of 


296  Sermons 

the  Savior,  The  people  of  God,  while  in-  their  uncon- 
verted and  ungodly  condition,  are  accepted  not  because 
of  the  efficacy  of  their  prayers,  but  because  Jesus  has 
previously  prayed  for  them.  This  is  the  encouragement 
which  the  unconverted  sinner  has  in  attempting  to 
pray.  His  prayers  in  themselves  do  not  deserve  an 
answer.  God  might  in  justice  reject  them.  But  the 
mediation  and  intercession  of  Christ  render  it  con- 
sistent with  His  perfections  that  He  should  receive  the 
sinner  and  hear  his  prayer.  He  meets  him  in  Christ, 
regards  him  in  Christ,  and  blesses  him  for  Christ's 
sake.  The  love  He  bears  His  dear  Son  and  the  honor 
he  puts  upon  His  atoning  death  and  priestly  interces- 
sion cause  Him  to  bow  down  His  ear  to  the  cry  of  the 
wretched  suppliant  Avho  prostrates  himself  at  His  feet. 

"Having,  therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into 
the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living 
way  which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us  through  the  veil, 
that  is  to  say.  His  flesh;  and  having  an  high  priest 
over  the  house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near."  The  infinite 
mercy  of  God  which  regarded  us  in  our  ruin  has  pro- 
vided for  us  a  way  of  access  into  His  gracious  and 
reconciled  presence;  and  having  furnished  us  in  the 
death  and  intercession  of  His  Son  the  grounds  of 
acceptable  prayer,  He  invites,  commands  and  urges  us 
to  pray,  adding  His  Avord  of  promise  that  if  we  present 
our  petitions  in  sincere  reliance  upon  these  grounds.  He 
will  grant  us  those  blessings  which  it  is  consistent  with 
His  glory  and  our  welfare  to  confer. 

Should  any  now  ask,  What  are  the  grounds  of  accep- 
table pra3'er,  the  answer  is,  the  atoning  death  and  the 
priestly  advocacy  of  the  great  Mediator;  and  should 
any  inquire,  ^^Tiat  authority  we  have  to  pray,  the  reply 
is,  the  invitation,  command,  and  promise  of  Him  w^ho 
has  furnished  the  grounds  of  prayer. 


Girardeau  297 


THE  EFFICACY  OF  PRAYER 

James,  v:  16.  "T'/ie  effectual^  ferve'rii  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  availeth  much.'''' 

In  the  last  discourse  which,  it  may  be  remembered, 
was  occupied  with  the  consideration  of  the  spirit  of 
prayer,  I  endeavored  to  ehicidate  the  manner  in  which 
tliis  great  duty  ought  to  be  performed.  In  the  first 
place,  it  was  shown  that  in  prayer  we  should  draw  near 
to  God;  that  we  should  avail  ourselves  of  that  perfect 
liberty  of  access  to  Him  which  is  granted  to  us  under 
the  present  dispensation  in  consequence  of  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  atoning  work  of  Christ,  and  His 
prevalent  advocacy  of  our  cause  in  the  heavenly  Holy 
of  Holies;  that  we  should  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
short  of  an  intimate  personal  communion  with  the 
Father  of  our  spirits;  and  that  we  should  strive  to 
attain  that  fervor  of  affection  and  kindling  of  emotion 
which  naturally  spring  from  near  and  holy  intercourse 
with  Him.  In  the  second  place,  it  was  urged  that  we 
should  come  to  God  with  a  true  heart;  Avith  a  heart 
true  to  the  spirituality  of  His  nature  and  worshipping 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth;  with  a  heart  true  to  His 
infinite  greatness  and  glory,  and  serving  Him  with 
reverence  and  godly  fear;  with  a  heart  true  to  His 
majesty,  holiness  and  omniscience,  and  calling  on 
Him  with  a  sincerity  exclusive  of  formality,  duplicity 
and  hj^pocrisy;  that  we  should  come  with  a  heart 
true  to  ourselves,  a  heart  true  to  our  real  condition 
of  poverty,  sinfulness  and  want,  and  pressing  its  peti- 
tions with  fervent  earnestness  and  importunate  cease- 
lessness.    In  the  third  place,  it  was  contended  that  we 


298  Sermons 

should  pray  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  that  is  to  say, 
in  undoubting  reliance  upon  the  death  and  intercessions 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  sufficient  grounds  for  our  petitions, 
in  unquestioning  confidence  in  the  willingness  of  our 
great  High  1r*riest  to  present  and  of  our  heavenly 
Father  to  accept  our  praj^ers,  and  with  a  firm  belief  in 
the  promises  of  God  to  answer  us  favorably  so  far  as 
may  be  for  His  glory  and  our  good.  In  the  fourth 
place,  it  -u  as  seen  that  we  should  come  to  God  having 
our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience;  that  is, 
with  hearts  discharged  by  the  application  of  the  blood 
of  atonement  from  the  enslaving  influence  of  a  con- 
demning conscience,  and  relieved  of  that  condition  in 
which  a  misled  conscience  tolerates  the  indulgence  of 
sin;  and  that  we  should  come  having  our  bodies  washed 
Avith  pure  water,  or,  in  other  words,  resisting  the  solic- 
itations of  those  more  open  and  grosser  sins  of  the  flesh 
which  it  is  the  office  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  and  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  wash  away. 

Your  attention,  on  the  present  occasion,  is  invited  to 
a  consideration  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  The  text  de- 
clares that  "the  fervent,  effectual  prayer  of  a  righteous 
man  availeth  much."  It  has  been  remarked  that  there 
is  an  apparent  pleonasm  in  these  words,  that  it  is  some- 
what strange  that  the  apostle  should  affirm  that  effica- 
cious prayer  is  efficacious.  I  do  not  see  that  the  criti- 
cism is  well  taken.  What  he  means  to  say  is  simph?^ 
that  it  is  not  all  prayer  Avhich  may  be  expected  to  avail 
with  God,  but  that  which  springs  from  a  felt  sense  of 
misery  and  want,  and  is  therefore  urged  with  heartfelt 
earnestness  and  fervor.  It  is  such  prayer,  when  offered 
by  a  righteous  man — ope  who  relies  upon  the  justify- 
ing righteousness  of  Christ  and  is  conscious  of  right- 
eous intentions  which  exclude  hypocrisy — that  enters 


Girardeau  299 

into  the  ear  of  God  and  is  efficacious  in  securing  the 
blessings  which  are  sought.  The  doctrine  of  the  text 
is  that  true  prayer,  when  offered  in  a  proper  manner,  is 
effectual  in  producing  those  positive  results  which  its 
very  nature  supposes  it  possible  to  attain. 

The  view  has  not  unfrequently  been  maintained,  and 
is,  it  may  be  feared,  but  too  current  at  the  present  day, 
that  the  influence  of  prayer  is  merely  subjective:  that 
its  office  consists  in  stimulating  by  a  sort  of  reflex 
action  the  religious  affections  and  emotions,  and  in 
strengthening  the  pious  purposes  and  resolutions  of  the 
soul.  It  is  urged  that  more  than  this  it  cannot  be 
expected  to  accomplish,  on  the  specious  ground  that 
either  on  the  supposition  that  the  world  is  governed  by 
fixed  and  uniform  laws,  or  that  the  providence  of  God 
always  proceeds  upon  an  undeviating  general  plan,  it 
would  be  absurd  to  expect  a  change  of  those  laws  or  an 
accommodation  of  that  plan  in  accordance  with  the 
necessities  or  desires  of  each  individual. 

It  would  seem  to  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  this  hypo- 
thesis that  it  contradicts  the  fundamental  conception 
of  praj^er.  No  one  prays  simply  for  the  purpose  of 
exciting  by  the  act  of  prayer  the  fervor  of  his  religious 
emotions.  For  if  it  be  admitted  that  this  result  is 
secured  by  the  operation  of  a  divine  influence  upon  the 
heart,  the  very  essence  of  the  theory  is  given  up,  which 
is  that  prayer  acts  by  a  reflfex  energy  of  its  own;  and 
if  it  be  denied  that  this  result  is  secured  by  a  divine 
influence,  then  the  advocate  of  this  view  is  confronted 
by  a  twofold  difficulty:  he  attributes  to  prayer  what 
can  only  be  achieved  by  the  immediate  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  and  he  contradicts  the  very  terms  of  all 
true  prayer  in  which  a  divine  influence  is  invariably 
implored.     This  is  so  palpable  as  to  be  conceded  even 


300  Sermons 

by  candid  infidels  themselves.  Dr.  McCosh  tells  us 
that  "after  hearing  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Leech- 
man,  in  which  he  dwelt  upon  the  power  of  prayer  to 
render  the  wishes  it  expressed  more  ardent  and  pas- 
sionate, Hume  remarked  with  great  justice,  'we  can 
make  use  of  no  expression  or  even  thought,  in  prayers 
and  entreaties,  which  does  not  imply  that  these  prayers 
have  an  influence.'  " 

It  is  my  present  purpose,  however,  to  maintain  the 
doctrine  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer  by  a  simple  appeal  to 
the  testimonj^  of  the  Scriptures  which  bears  directly 
upon  the  point,  reserving  to  another  opportunity  a 
fuller  discussion  of  the  objection  to  this  view  profess- 
ing to  be  founded  upon  its  inconsistency  with  the  fixed 
and  uniform  operation  of  the  laws  of  nature  or  of 
Providence. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  denied  that  the  reflex  influence  of 
prayer  in  kindling  the  ardor  of  our  religious  emotions 
is  one  of  its  beneficial  results.  It  is  cheerfully  con- 
ceded that  adoration  of  God,  communion  with  Him, 
and  the  thankful  acknowledgment  of  His  mercies  tend, 
even  apart  from  petition  for  positive  blessings,  to  pro- 
duce a  salutary  effect  upon  the  soul.  This  is  true,  but 
the  Scriptures  represent  prayer  as  accomplishing  a 
great  deal  more  than  this.  They  attribute  to  it  an 
actual  influence  in  bringing  to  bear  upon  us,  both  in 
our  spiritual  and  temporal  condition,  powers  and  ener- 
gies which  are  not  only  not  inherent  in  us,  but  abso- 
lutely extraneous  to  us.  In  a  word,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures  clearly  is  that  true  prayer  is  efficacious  in 
securing  God's  interposition  in  our  behalf.  The  effec- 
tual fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  avails  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  result.  It  has  power  to  prevail 
with   God.     It  not  only  brings  us  nigh   to   Him,  it 


Girardeau  301 

brings  Him  nigh  to  us.  It  lays  hold  of  the  Divine 
strength,  obtains  the  Divine  help,  and  supplies  the 
wants  of  the  soul  and  the  body  from  the  fullness  of  the 
Divine  resources. 

I.  The  efficacy  of  prayer  in  actually  securing  Divine 
assistance,  it  may  be  remarked  in  the  first  place,  is 
plainly  deducible  from  those  statements  of  Scripture 
in  which  God  is  represented  as  the  hearer  of  prayer. 
"O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "unto 
Thee  shall  all  flesh  come."  In  this  passage  God  is  ad- 
dressed by  His  inspired  servant  as  the  hearer  of  prayer, 
and  because  this  was  His  known  character,  the  declara- 
tion is  made  that  unto  Him  all  flesh  should  come  bring- 
ing their  requests  and  looking  for  His  blessing.  It 
would  be  doing  violence  to  this  and  kindred  statements 
to  limit  prayer  to  the  offering  of  adoration  and  thanks- 
giving. The  prayers  of  sinners  must  in  a  large  degree 
consist  of  petition.  The  guilty  necessarily  pray,  if  they 
pray  at  all,  for  pardon,  the  ignorant  for  knowledge, 
the  miserable  for  relief,  the  lost  for  salvation.  If  God 
hears  the  prayers  of  sinners — and  such  is  the  state- 
ment— He  actually  confers  upon  them  pardon,  knowl- 
edge, relief  and  salvation,  in  answer  to  their  supplica- 
tions for  these  positive  blessings.  God  not  only  hears 
our  praises,  but  our  prayers,  and  hears  them  to  answer 
them.  It  may  here  be  observed  that,  except  on  the  sup- 
position that  He  hears  and  answers  petitions  so  as  to 
confer  actual  blessings  upon  the  petitioner,  prayer  itself 
would  be  both  a  mockery  and  an  absurdity.  It  would 
be  a  mockery,  for  we  would  address  supplications  to 
God  to  which  we  do  not  expect  Him  to  respond;  it 
would  be  an  absurdity,  for  petitions  for  nothing  would 
be  but  idle  breath.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  see  how  prayer  in 
this  view  of  the  case  can  be  productive  even  of  a  reflex 


302  Sermons 

influence  for  good.     An  address  to  the  Deity  which 
would  be  both  blasphemous  and   absurd,  one  would 
naturall}'^  suppose,  could  only  damage  the  character  of 
the  sui^pliant.     To  pray  for  pardon,  knowledge,  hap- 
piness and  salvation,  in  the  expectation  that  they  will 
be  secured  by  a  reflex  influence  of  the  prayer  itself,  is 
something  that  passes  comj^rehension.     Not  to  pray 
for  them  at  all  is  to  remain  unpardoned,  ignorant, 
miserable  and  lost..  Either  God  simply  receives  prayer 
without  answering  it,  or  He  hears  it  in  order  to  answer 
it.    If  the  first  supposition  be  adopted,  then,  except  on 
the  Pelagian  theory  of  human  ability,  the  soul  con- 
tinues in   a  state  of  unpardoned  guilt   and  hopeless 
misery.     If  the  second,  then  the  very  ground  of  the 
doctrine  against  which  I  am  contending  is  abandoned. 
II.  In  the  second  place,  it  may  be  observed  that  God 
is  not  only  declared  to  be  the  hearer  of  prayer,  but  He 
directs  us  to  offer  our  petitions  to  Him,  and  promises 
that  He  will  grant  blessings  in  answer  to  them.     The 
l^assages  in  Avhich  this  truth  are  taught  are  so  numer- 
ous that  the  only  difficulty  lies  in  selecting  the  testi- 
monies which  are  most  striking  and  pertinent.     We 
call  attention  to  a  few  which  may  be  regarded  as  rep- 
resentatives of  larger  classes.      First,  w^e  meet  those 
passages  in  which  we  are  commanded  to  pray  for  bless- 
ings in  general,  and  to  which  promises  of  answers  are 
attached.     "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  call  upon  Me  and  I 
will  answer  thee."     "Ye  shall  go  and  pray  unto  Me, 
and  I  will  hearken  unto  you."    "Let  us,  therefore,  come 
boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace  that  we  may  obtain 
mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."     Next 
we  have  directions  to  pray  for  spiritual  blessings  with 
promises  of  answers  annexed  to  them.     ""VVHiosoever 
shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."    In 


Girardeau  303 

this  declaration  it  is  manifestly  taught  that  saJvation  is 
granted  in  answer  to  prayer,  and  that  it  is  withheld 
from  those  who  refuse  to  pray.  It  will  not  be  denied 
that  it  is  the  prerogative  of  God  alone  to  give  salva- 
tion, and  that,  therefore,  no  merely  internal  influence 
of  prayer  can  avail  to  secure  it.  It  springs  not  from 
within  us.  It  comes  from  without.  Take  this  exhorta- 
tion of  the  Savior  which  may  serve  as  an  exponent  of 
this  whole  class  of  passages.  ''Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
to  you;  seek  and  ye  shall  find;  Iniock  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you.  For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth, 
and  he  that  seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that  knocketh 
it  shall  be  opened.  Or,  what  man  is  there  of  you,  whom 
if  his  son  ask  bread  will  he  give  him  a  stone  ?  or  if  he 
ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent?  If  ye  then, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  will  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  Him."  An- 
other evangelist  thus  states  this  promise  conveyed  in 
the  last  words  of  this  passage :  "How  much  more  shall 
your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  Him."  Here  we  are  taught,  as  definitely  as  lan- 
guage can  impart  any  idea,  that  the  blessings  which 
we  obtain  as  the  result  of  prayer  are  things  which  are 
given  to  us  by  a  Father  from  whom  we  ask  them.  A 
personal  God  hears  us  when  we  pray  and  actually 
bestows  upon  us  the  spiritual  blessings  which  as  per- 
sons we  seek  at  His  hands.  These  blessings  are  all 
comprehensively  contained  in  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Our  Savior  declares  that  He  is  given  in  answer 
to  prayer.  This  simple  announcement  is  enough  to 
evince  the  fallacy  of  the  view  which  is  combated  in 
these  remarks.  What  reflex  influence  of  prayer  is 
equivalent  to  the  bestowal  of  the  influences  of  God's 


304  Sermons 

blessed  Spirit  ?  It  is  God's  prerogative  alone  to  confer 
the  grace  of  His  Spirit.  There  is,  it  may  be  said  with- 
out irreverence,  no  higher  function  of  His  exclusive 
sovereignty  than  that  which  is  involved  in  the  imparta- 
tion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Himself  possessed  of  divine 
personality,  and  clothed  with  the  majesty  and  the 
greatness  of  infinite  Deity.  If  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given 
in  answer  to  prayer,  and  Jesus  Christ  Himself  assures 
us  that  He  is,  what  becomes  of  the  theory  which  makes 
the  chief  office  of  this  duty  to  consist  in  stimulating  our 
religious  nature,  and  re-acting  for  good  upon  the  soul  ? 
"\Miat  provision  is  made  on  this  supposition  for  the 
imparted  grace  of  the  Eternal  Spirit?  It  provides  for 
no  Holy  Ghost  and,  therefore,  f)rovides  no  hope  for  our 
guilty  and  dying  race.  To  this  it  may  be  replied  that  the 
Spirit  is  conferred  in  accordance  with  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  scheme  of  redemption,  but  not  in  conse- 
quence of  the  offering  of  prayer  for  His  influence.  To 
take  this  ground  is  to  forget  the  express  language  of 
the  Savior,  which  has  been  quoted,  in  which  He  dis- 
tinctW  informs  us  that  our  heavenly  Father  is  willing 
to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him;  and 
also  to  overlook  the  fact  that  the  influence  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  bestowed  even  upon  the  ungodly  and  is  neces- 
sary to  the  production  of  the  temper  of  praj^er  in  the 
heart  of  the  sinner,  is  secured  by  the  praj^ers  of  Christ 
as  our  intercessor  in  the  heavens;  and  would  never  be 
conferred  except  His  sacerdotal  petitions  were  pre- 
sented in  our  behalf.  Nor  is  the  consideration  material 
that  in  the  one  case  the  prayers  of  sinful  men  are 
involved,  and  in  the  other  those  of  the  divine  and  holy 
Savior,  for  upon  the  hypothesis  under  consideration 
the  essence  of  all  prayer  consists  in  its  being  subjective 
in  its  character  and  reflex  in  its  influence.    Consistency, 


Girardeau  305 

therefore,  would  require  that  the  productive  efficacy 
of  the  Savior's  prayers  should  be  denied.  And  as  it  is 
contended  that  the  fixed  and  uniform  operation  of  the 
scheme  of  law,  inexorable  and  undeviating  from  its 
very  inception,  can  in  no  case  admit  the  positive 
influence  of  prayer  which  is  an  afterthought  of  the 
individual  subject  of  this  inflexible  rule,  a  logical 
adherence  to  the  theor}^  demands  the  denial  of  the 
active  efficacy  of  the  prayers  of  Christ  in  obtaining  for 
sinners  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  so  all  shadow 
of  hope  is  swept  away  from  our  wretched  race.  It  is 
strijjped  alike  of  the  prevalent  intercessions  of  its 
Redeemer  and  the  saving  influence  of  its  Sanctifier. 
Surely  a  doctrine  which  deprives  us  of  one-half  of  the 
work  of  Christ  and  the  whole  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
is  not  one  which  has  its  foundation  in  a  Gospel  which 
brings  glad  tidings  to  a  ruined  race,  or  one  suited  to 
strike  a  spark  of  light  in  the  deep  midnight  of  its 
despair.  We  turn  with  a  bound  of  joy  from  the  arctic 
desolateness  of  this  tenet  to  the  green  pastures  of  God's 
Word,  and  refresh  our  fainting  faith  with  those 
gracious  declarations  which  assure  us  that  God  is  the 
hearer  of  prayer,  and  those  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  which  guaranty  divine  answers  to 
the  petitions  of  the  needy  and  the  poor, 

III.  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  in  the  third  place, 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  positive  efficacy  of  prayer  is 
enhanced  by  the  consideration  of  the  objects  for  which 
we  are  directed  to  offer  it.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  God 
commands  us  to  pray  for  objects  which  lie  outside  of 
our  experience  and  are  not  immediately  connected  with 
it,  the  productive  power  of  prayer  will  be  clearly 
evinced  in  opposition  to  the  idea  that  it  is  simply  sub- 
jective and  reflex  in  its  influence.    In  order  to  accom- 


306  Sermons 

plish  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  examine  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  which  is  admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  a  perfect 
model  of  petition.  In  praying  that  God's  great  name 
may  be  hallowed,  we  ask  that  it  may  be  sanctified  and 
honored  not  only  by  ourselves  but  by  all  the  world,  a 
result  which  no  subjective  and  reflex  influence  can 
secure.  In  praying  that  God's  kingdom  may  come  and 
His  will  may  be  done  on  earth  as  in  heaven,  we  ask  not 
only  that  His  kingdom  may  come  in  our  own  hearts, 
and  that  His  will  may  be  done  by  ourselves,  but  that 
these  great  ends  may  be  accomplished  in  the  whole 
earth.  Unless  each  suppliant  be  the  world  in  himself, 
which  is  easier  imagined  than  realized,  what  becomes 
of  the  reflex  theory?  In  praying  that  God  may  give 
us  our  daily  bread,  we  ask  for  that  which  it  will  hardly 
be  said  a  mere  experimental  exercise  will  furnish  us, 
unless  this  daily  bread  be  simply  spiritual;  or  unless 
it  be  so  that  to  be  a  Christian  is  to  be  able  to  live  with- 
out food,  and  that  men  ought  not  only  not  to  live  by 
bread  alone,  but  ought  not  to  live  by  bread  at  all;  or 
unless  prayer,  as  it  supplies  the  heart  by  a  reflex  in- 
fluence, furnishes  the  stomach  in  the  same  miraculous 
way.  When  we  pray  that  God  may  forgive  us  our  sins, 
we  ask  that  the  great  Ruler  and  Judge  whose  laws  we 
have  infringed  may  graciously  pardon  our  guilt; 
unless,  indeed,  the  pardon  of  an  offended  Sovereign  is 
the  same  thing  as  the  pardoning  of  ourselves  by  a  reflex 
influence,  a  pleasing  fancy,  it  must  be  confessed,  as  it  is 
not  difficult  for  men  to  forgive  themselves,  but  one 
which  would  scarcely  take  the  gloom  from  the  face  of 
a  prisoner  who  hears  the  stroke  of  the  hammer  on  his 
own  gallows.  When  we  pray  that  God  may  lead  us  not 
into  temptation  but  deliver  us  from  evil,  we  ask  that 
He  may,  by  His  almighty  providence,  so  dispose  and 


Girardeau  307 

arrange  our  circumstances  as  to  prevent  our  entrance 
into  temptation,  and  may  defend  us  from  the  crafts  of 
the  Devil,  the  violence  of  men,  and  the  innumerable 
dangers  from  causes  outside  of  ourselves,  as  well  as 
within  us,  to  which  we  are  every  day  and  every  moment 
exposed;  unless  it  be  so  that  the  internal  influence  of 
prayer  controls  the  arrangements  of  Providence  and 
manages  the  forces  of  nature,  foils  the  intelligence  and 
baffles  the  power  of  the  great  Adversary,  directs  the 
steps,  ties  the  hands  and  seals  the  lips  of  men,  cures 
the  maladies  of  the  body,  checks  the  sweep  of  the 
pestilence,  arrests  the  flight  of  the  destroying  angel, 
and  converts  famine  into  plenty,  war  into  peace,  and 
death  into  life.  But  why  pursue  this  train  of  thought  ? 
Is  it  not  obvious  that  if  God  commands  us  to  pray  for 
objects  which  lie  outside  of  our  experience,  prayer 
must  have  a  positive  and  productive  energy  which  is 
something  more  than  a  mere  subjective  and  reflex 
influence?  As  an  integral  element  of  God's  great  plan 
of  providence,  it  actually  contributes  to  the  hallowing 
of  His  name,  the  advancement  of  His  kingdom  and  the 
accomplishment  of  His  will.  It  brings  us  our  daily 
bread,  secures  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  erects  a  barrier 
between  us  and  the  yawning  abysses  of  temptation,  and 
encomj^asses  our  frailty  and  our  weakness  with  the 
impregnable  ramparts  of  almighty  power.  Such  are 
the  inferences  which  naturally  flow  from  the  prayer 
which  our  blessed  Savior  has  taught  us,  and  they  are 
confirmed  by  the  concurrent  deliverances  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  instincts  and  facts  of  Christian  expe- 
rience. 

IV.  It  may  be  observed,  in  the  last  place,  that  the 
efficacy  of  prayer  is  proved  by  the  numerous  cases  on 
record  in  the  Scriptures  in  which  it  is  seen  to  have 


308  Sermons 

produced  results  \Yhich,  so  far  from  depending  upon 
a  reflex  influence  upon  experience,  were  not  even  experi- 
mental in  their  character.  So  striking  are  these  cases 
that  they  seem  to  represent  nature  and  Providence  as 
obedient  to  the  call  of  prayer.  Let  us  look  at  a  few  of 
them  as  they  stand  out  on  the  past  track  of  the  church, 
monuments  of  the  willingness  of  God  to  hear  and 
answer  j^rayer.  Abraham  prays  for  Sodom,  and  his 
intercessions  fail  of  complete  success  only  because  there 
were  not  ten  righteous  men  in  that  wicked  city  for 
whose  sake,  in  answer  to  his  petitions,  it  might  have 
been  saved  from  its  fiery  doom.  Jacob,  when  after  a 
protracted  exile  from  his  native  land,  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  vow  of  Esau  to  destroy  him,  when  returning 
to  his  home,  learns  that  his  vindictive  brother  is  has- 
tening to  meet  him  with  an  armed  band  in  order  to  put 
into  execution  his  long- delayed  but  still  cherished 
intention.  He  pleads  with  God  for  deliverance  from  an 
injured  brother's  wrath.  On  the  bank  of  the  Jabbok 
he  consumes  the  waning  hours  of  night  in  wrestling 
with  the  angel  of  the  covenant.  He  refuses  to  relax 
his  grasp  until  the  coveted  blessing  is  obtained.  His 
brother's  w^rath  is  turned  to  grace,  his  hate  to  love; 
they  meet  in  peace,  and  kiss  each  other;  and  thence- 
forward the  earnest  and  successful  suppliant  is  pro- 
nounced a  prince  who  had  power  with  God  and  pre- 
vailed, and  held  up  as  a  conspicuous  exemplar  of  the 
efficacy  of  prayer  to  all  succeeding  generations.  To  this 
day,  with  the  Psalmist  of  Israel,  when  we  plead  most 
urgently  with  God,  we  would  fain  address  Him  as  the 
God  of  Jacob  who  hears  and  answers  prayer,  Moses 
cries  to  the  Lord,  and  the  bitter  waters  of  Marah  are 
made  sweet.  He  prays  again,  and  the  rock  gushes 
with  streams  of  living  water  which  slake  the  thirst  of 


Girardeau  309 

thousands.  Israel,  at  the  base  of  Sinai  and  in  view  of 
the  dreadful  tokens  of  Jehovah's  presence,  is  guilty  of 
defection  from  His  service  and  bows  down  in  worship 
to  a  calf  of  gold.  The  anger  of  God  is  kindled  and 
threatened  judgment  hurtles  like  a  storm  over  the 
guilty  camp.  Moses  throws  himself  into  the  breach, 
prays  for  the  pardon  of  his  people,  and  the  Almighty 
hand  is  arrested  which  was  about  to  discharge  the  bolts 
of  retributive  justice  upon  an  idolatrous  and  apostate 
race. 

There  are  other  passages,  still,  in  which  the  case  is 
even  more  clearly  made  out.  I  allude  to  those  in  which 
we  are  directed  to  pray  for  temporal  blessings,  and 
the  promise  extended  that  we  shall  be  heard.  "Call 
upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will  answer  thee." 
In  this  and  similar  passages  we  are  directed  to  pray 
for  deliverance  from  temporal  evil,  and  the  assurance 
is  given  that  God  will,  in  answer  to  prayer,  accomplish 
it  for  us.  In  the  words  immediately  preceding  the  text 
the  apostle  directs  that,  in  the  case  of  one  who  is  sick, 
the  elders  of  the  church  should  be  sent  for  to  offer 
prayer  for  his  recovery,  and  the  declaration  is  made 
that  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  if  he 
have  committed  sins  they  shall  be  forgiven  him.  It 
would  seem  superfluous  to  say  that  it  is  inconceivable 
that  an  influence  which  is  merely  internal  to  ourselves 
can  deliver  us  from  evil,  or  restore  us  to  health.  For 
if  it  be  conceded  that  it  is  not  our  prayers,  but  the 
power  of  God  which  accomplishes  these  results,  the 
theory  of  a  subjective  influence  is  confessedly  relin- 
quished, as  the  Scriptures  assure  us  that  that  power  is 
exerted  in  answer  to  prayer. 

Joshua,  the  great  leader  of  Israel,  in  the  midst  of 
conflict  with  their  foes,  prays  that  the  sun  and  moon 


310  Sermons 

might  stand  still,  and  the  day  pauses  in  its  course  that 
ample  time  might  be  furnished  to  reap  the  fruits  of 
victory.  David  prays  to  God  that  his  afflicted  people 
might  be  spared  from  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence  that 
was  mowing  them  down  by  thousands,  and  the  destroy- 
ing angel  stops  in  his  path  of  desolation,  closes  his 
baleful  wings  and  sheathes  his  devouring  sword. 
Hezekiah,  the  sick  king  of  Judah,  turns  his  face  to  the 
wall  and  with  weeping  prays  for  his  recovery.  At  the 
entreaty  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  the  shadow  on  the  dial- 
plate  goes  backward  ten  degrees  in  attestation  of  the 
fact  that  God  had  heard  his  prayer,  and  fifteen  years 
are  added  to  his  life.  Elijah  stretches  himself  upon  the 
corpse  of  the  widow's  son,  and  cries  unto  the  Lord :  "O 
Lord,  my  God,  I  pray  thee,  let  this  child's  soul  come 
into  him  ffgain";  the  disembodied  spirit  returns.  He 
takes  the  child  alive  in  his  arms,  brings  him  down  from 
the  chamber  of  death,  and  places  him  in  the  bosom  of 
his  astonished  and  enraptured  mother.  The  glorious 
prophet  prays  again.  Single-handed  and  alone  he 
copes  with  the  banded  prophets  of  Baal  in  the  presence 
of  his  idolatrous  countrymen.  He  calls  upon  the  living 
God,  and  fire  flashes  from  mid-heaven,  rushes  down 
upon  the  victim  on  the  altar,  and  licks  up  the  running 
water  in  the  trenches.  Once  more  he  prays.  On  the 
top  of  Carmel  he  bows  his  head  between  his  knees.  He 
pleads  for  rain  upon  a  parched  and  dying  country; 
and  the  brazen  heavens  pour  down  the  grateful  floods, 
the  iron  earth  drinks  in  the  descending  waters.  Well 
may  the  apostle  exclaim,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  in 
referring  to  this  illustrious  instance  of  successful 
prayer,  the  ejffectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man 
availeth  much.  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  like  pas- 
sions as  we  are,  and  he  prayed  earnestly  that  it  might 
not  rain ;  and  it  rained  not  on  the  earth  by  the  space  of 


Girardeau  311 

three  years  and  six  months;  and  he  prayed  again,  and 
the  heaven  gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her 
fruit.  Jonah,  from  the  bosom  of  the  great  deep,  cries 
to  God  for  deliverance,  and  is  cast  out  upon  dry  land; 
and  the  wicked  city  of  Nineveh,  alarmed  by  his  stern 
proclamation  of  her  impending  doom,  prostrates  her- 
self before  God  in  prayer,  and  averts  the  threatening 
ruin.  Peter  is  cast  into  prison,  bound  with  chains  and 
watched  by  the  vigils  of  a  Roman  guard.  Prayer  is 
made  for  him  without  ceasing  by  the  assembled  church. 
An  angel  descends  into  the  dungeon,  strikes  off  the 
chains  irom  the  prisoner's  limbs,  opens  the  prison-doors, 
and  sends  the  liberated  apostle  to  surprise  the  throng 
of  suppliants  with  the  answer  to  their  prayers. 

Such  are  some  of  the  instances,  mj  brethren,  which 
the  Scriptures  furnish  to  illustrate  the  positive  and 
productive  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  to  vindicate  it  from 
the  representations  of  professed  friends  who  would 
cripple  its  heavenly  power  by  degrading  it  into  an 
influence  which  is  merely  subjective  and  internal.  And 
let  us  not  be  told  that  all  that  is  proved  by  these  cases 
is  that  there  is  a  concurrence,  a  coincidence  between 
prayer  and  these  outward  results.  We  might  be  content 
with  such  an  admission,  for  it  is  fatal  to  the  theory 
which  has  been  considered.  If  the  concurrence  is  that 
of  an  appointed  antecedence  and  sequence,  then  prayer 
is  not  simply  experimental.  It  is  tied  by  divine  ap- 
pointment to  the  objective  and  outward  result.  It  is 
necessary  to  its  occurrence.  It  is  that  without  which 
the  outward  result  would  not  take  place.  So  God  has 
ordained  and  as  He  has  been  pleased  to  require  prayer 
of  us  in  order  to  His  bestowal  of  blessings  upon  our- 
selves and  others,  and  has  declared  that  when  effectual 
and  fervent  it  availeth  much,  we  accept  His  testimony, 
let  the  wise  men  of  this  world  philosophize  as  they  may. 


312  Sermons 

CONSISTENCY  OF   PRAYER  WITH 
NATURAL  LAW 

James  v:  16.  "T'Ae  effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  availeth  muchy 

In  bringing  the  present  series  of  discourses  to  a  con- 
clusion, I  would  today  invite  your  attention,  my 
friends,  to  the  consideration  of  a  specious  objection, 
professing  to  be  grounded  in  philosophical  principles, 
which  Jias  frequently  been  urged  against  the  utility,  the 
efficacy,  and  even  the  possibility  of  prayer.  It  is  con- 
tended that  the  world  is  governed  by  general  laws 
which  are  fixed  and  uniform  in  their  operation,  and 
that,  therefore,  it  is  idle  if  not  absurd  to  suppose  that 
any  emotions  which  we  may  experience,  or  any  prayers 
which  may  be  dictated  by  our  desires,  can  exercise  an 
influence  upon  the  undeviating  course  of  nature.  No 
exceptions  can  be  supposed  to  arise  in  favor  of  indi- 
viduals. They  must  be  content  to  have  their  lot 
assigned  them  under  the  general  and  impartial  system 
of  law.  This  objection  to  prayer  has  been  forcibly  and 
ingeniously  expressed  by  Pope  in  his  Essay  on  Man. 

Note. — This  sermon  was  also  used  as  the  basis  of  a  baccalaureate 
discourse  at  Washington  College,  in  1869,  during  the  presidency  of 
General  Robert  E.  Lee.  The  sermon  was  not  preached  as  written,  for 
in  addition  to  the  earnestness  and  spiritual  fervor  that  always  char- 
acterized Dr.  Girardeau's  preaching,  on  this  occasion  his  heart  was 
so  stirred  by  his  return  to  the  State  where,  as  chaplain,  he  had 
prayed  and  preached  and  suffered  ;  the  attendance  of  a  large  audience 
containing  not  only  college  students  and  professors,  but  also  many 
distinguished  visitors  :  and  the  presence  of  the  former  commander  of 
the  armies  of  the  Confederacy,  that  he  soon  forgot  his  manuscript 
and  preached  with  the  same  freedom  and  power  that  had  so  often 
thrilled  the  soldiers  of  the  South.  General  Lee  was  among  those  who 
made  no  effort  to  control  their  emotions. 


Girardeau  313 

"Think  we,  like  some  weak  prince,  the  Eternal  Cause, 
Prone  for  his  favorites  to  reverse  his  laws? 
Shall  burning  Etna,  if  a  sage  requires, 
P^orget  to  thunder,  and  recall  her  fires ; 
On  air  or  sea  new  motions  be  imprest, 
O  blameless  Bethel,  to  relieve  thy  breast; 
When  the  loose  mountain  trembles  from  on  high, 
Shall  gravitation  cease,  if  you  go  by?" 

This  is  the  difficulty  which  I  propose  to  examine; 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  possesses  an  apparent 
justification  in  the  discoveries  of  science  which  gives  it 
a  certain  weight  with  minds  not  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  doctrines  of  Scripture,  or  not  convinced  by 
their  own  actual  experience  of  the  "incontestable  benefits 
of  prayer.  I  venture,  however,  to  express  the  hope  that 
an  inquiry  into  the  theory  on  which  the  objection  is 
based  will  show  that  it  lacks  the  support  even  from 
T'eason  which  at  first  it  appears  to  furnish. 

I.  Let  it  now,  in  the  first  place,  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, be  assumed,  what,  however,  I  am  not  willing  to 
concede  as  a  fact,  that  the  world  of  nature  is  governed 
simply  and  purely  by  general  laws.  The  first  question, 
in  the  way  of  definition,  which  would  arise  for  settle- 
ment is.  What  is  nature,  what  does  it  include?  "Wliat 
is  that  which  is  stated  to  be  the  subject  of  this  govern- 
ment of  law?  Evidently  there  is  comprehended  in 
the  term  both  departments  of  what  is  called  nature, 
the  material  and  the  spiritual,  or,  if  that  phraseology 
be  objected  to,  matter  and  mind.  In  the  position  that 
the  world  is  controlled  by  general  laws  it  must  be  meant 
that  the  world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  mind  are 
alike  under  the  operation  of  this  system  of  rule.  If  it 
be  contended  that  mind  is  but  matter  of  a  finer  texture 


314  Sermons 

and  a  more  ethereal  mould,  then  it  is  admitted  that  it 
forms  no  exception  to  the  statement  that  nature  is 
governed  by  law.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  urged 
that  mind  constitutes  an  exception  to  this  statement 
on  the  ground  that  it  is  essentially  different  from  mat- 
ter and  is  controlled  by  influences  which  are  peculiar 
to  itself,  then  the  position  is  clearly  abandoned  that  the 
world  is  governed  by  general  laws,  for  mind  is  ob- 
viously a  part  of  the  world,  or  of  the  system  of  nature, 
and  those  laws  cannot  be  said  to  be  general  which  do 
not  apply  to  it.  They  are,  in  that  case,  limited  to  a 
certain  department  of  nature.  If  it  be  granted,  then, 
that  mind  as  well  as  matter  is  a  subject  of  this  fixed 
and  uniform  government  of  general  laws,  I  would  call 
attention  to  the  striking  consideration  that  man  in 
every  age,  condition  and  clime  has  been  characterized 
by  a  conscious  sense  of  dependence.  He  has  always 
been  sensible  of  the  fact  that  he  is  hemmed  in  by  limita- 
tions of  various  sorts,  limitations  upon  his  faculties  and 
powers  arising  from  their  weakness,  limitations  spring- 
ing from  the  influences  exerted  upon  him  by  his  fellow- 
men,  and  limitations  imposed  by  natural  circum- 
stances which  are  beyond  his  control  and  which  hedge 
him  about  on  every  hand.  The  conviction  of  weakness 
necessarily  leads  him  to  the  consciousness  of  depen- 
dence, a  consciousness  sometimes  manifesting  itself  in 
relation  to  other  men,  sometimes  to  external  nature,  and 
most  frequently  to  a  power  which  is  felt  to  be  above 
men  and  above  nature  itself.  This  universal  sense  of 
dependence  has  led  very  naturally  to  a  universal  dispo- 
sition on  the  part  of  men  to  seek  for  help,  and  we  are, 
accordingly,  met  by  the  fact  that  men  in  every  age  and 
country  have  been  inclined  to  pray.  Whatever  may  be 
the   differences  between   them,   in   civilization,  refine- 


Girardeau  315 

ment  and  learning,  they  are  all  characterized  by  the 
propensity  to  worship.  Wliether  their  religion  has 
been  of  one  sort  or  another,  it  invariably  embodies  the 
element  of  prayer.  The  Hottentot  and  the  South-Sea 
Islander,  as  well  as  the  Englishman  and  the  German, 
offers  prayer.  Here,  then,  we  are  confronted  by  a 
fact  of  universal,  or  at  least  of  well-nigh  universal, 
existence.  The  completer  the  induction  induced  by 
observation,  the  stronger  grows  the  conclusion  of  the 
universality  of  this  phenomenon.  We  are,  therefore, 
irresistibly  impelled  to  the  position  that  if  human 
beings  are  controlled  by  any  law,  they  are  governed  by 
the  law  of  conscious  dependence  leading  them  to  pray. 
If  we  are  warranted  in  inferring  the  existence  of  a  law 
from  a  wide  induction  of  facts  which  are  characterized 
by  identity,  we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  there 
is  a  law  of  prayer,  for  the  induction  upon  which  it  is 
based  is  as  extensive  as  the  human  race.  Here,  then, 
we  find  a  general  law  which  necessitiates  the  offering 
of  prayer;  and  it  devolves  upon  those  who  maintain 
the  objection  to  prayer,  that  it  is  inconsistent  with  the 
operation  of  the  general  laws  of  nature,  to  explain  the 
curious  anomaly  that  it  is  rendered  necessary  by  one 
of  those  very  laws  themselves.  But  if  the  fact  that 
men  pray  is  one  of  universal  existence,  it  would  seem 
that  there  must  be  some  provision  made  in  the  system 
of  nature  for  meeting  this  fact,  or  human  nature  is  a 
gigantic  lie,  and  the  scheme  by  which  the  world  is  gov- 
erned is  irreconcilable  with  itself.  This  supposition 
would  destroy  the  foundation  of  the  objection  under 
consideration,  inasmuch  as  it  would  concede  that  the 
world  is  under  the  control  of  laws  which  are  out  of 
harmony  with  each  other  and  wanting  in  that  adapta- 
tion to  each  other  which  a  general  system  must  involve. 


316  Sermons 

Even  granting,  therefore,  that  the  world  is  simply 
governed  by  general  laws,  we  are  obliged  to  admit  that 
the  propensity  to  pray  is  necessitated  by  these  laws 
themselves.  It  is  not  for  us  who  maintain  another 
theory  to  explain  the  fact,  but  for  those  who  contend 
that  prayer  is  inconsistent  with  the  reign  of  law  to 
adjust  it  to  their  views. 

I  am  not  unaware  that  it  may  be  said,  in  reply  to  this 
line  of  argument,  that  the  induction  upon  which  the 
law  of  prayer  is  professedly  founded  is  not  as  complete 
as  it  has  been  represented  to  be ;  that  it  is  "ignorance," 
which  "is  the  mother  of  devotion,"  and  that  as  men 
advance  in  the  knoAvledge  of  the  scheme  of  nature  and 
of  the  laws  which  science  reveals  as  controlling  it,  they 
see  the  inutility  and  absurdity  of  prayer.  It  must 
strike  an  impartial  mind  that  the  spirit  in  which  this 
exception  is  conceived  is  an  arrogant  one,  as  it  leaves 
out  of  account  the  fact  that  some  of  the  most  illus- 
trious expounders  of  scientific  laws  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  habits  of  devotion.  It  will  hardly  be 
maintained  with  seriousness  that  the  prayers  of  such 
men  as  Newton,  Locke,  Bacon,  Leibnitz,  Pascal  and 
Hamilton  originated  in  their  ignorance.  Nor  will  it  be 
denied  that  in  many  cases  in  which  men  have  been 
negligent  of  the  practice  of  prayer,  and  in  some  cases 
in  which  they  have  opposed  and  ridiculed  the  theory 
of  prayer,  the  apj)alling  exigencies  of  life  and  the 
dreadful  solemnities  of  death  have  converted  neglect 
into  petition,  and  sneers  into  supplication.  It  is  m 
such  circumstances  that  the  truth  comes  out,  that  the 
weakness  of  our  nature  is  confessed,  and  the  conscious 
need  of  help  springs  to  the  lips  in  the  form  of  earnest 
entreaty.  The  dying  infidel  cried,  "O  God,  if  therq 
be  a  God,  have  mercy  on  my  soul,  if  I  have  a  soul." 


Girardeau  317 

Speculate  and  theorize  as  we  may,  it  is  natural  for 
men  to  offer  prayer.  They  may  not  always  pray  aright, 
but  it  is  a  law  of  their  being  to  pray.  Prayer,  there- 
fore, is  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  by  which  the 
world  is  governed,  unless  it  be  supposed  that  law  is 
pitted  against  law,  and  nature  is  engaged  in  destroying 
itself. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  it  is  pertinent  to  inquire. 
What  are  the  laws  in  accordance  with  Avhich  the  world 
is  governed  ?  I  say  in  accordance  with  which  the  world 
is  governed,  for  it  is  obviously  one  thing  to  say  that  it 
is  governed  in  accordance  with  law,  and  quite  a  dif- 
ferent thing  to  say  that  it  is  governed  by  law.  In  the 
once  instance  it  is  affirmed  that  the  governing  power  is 
law,  in  the  other  it  may  be  held  that  the  governing 
power  is  above  law  while  it  acts  through  it.  The 
question  being,  then,  what  are  the  laws  of  nature;  it 
is  but  fair  to  admit  that  there  is  a  distinction  demanded 
by  the  discussion  which  is  to  be  noticed  as  existing 
between  moral  and  natural  law.  A  moral  law  may  be 
defined  to  be  a  rule  of  duty.  It  supposes  a  lawgiver 
of  whose  will  it  is  a  formal  expression  binding  the 
moral  agent  as  a  subject  of  moral  government  to  a 
course  of  moral  obedience.  Let  it  be  conceded  that  this 
is  not  the  aspect  of  law  in  which  it  enters  into  the 
present  discussion,  and  t-he  question  recurs.  What  are 
the  laws  of  nature,  whether  they  be  regarded  as  im- 
pressed upon  the  world  of  matter  or  the  world  of  mind  ? 
It  would  appear  to  be  an  uncontrollable  conviction  of 
our  minds  that  back  of  the  existence  of  laws  there  lies 
the  existence  of  power,  or  of  force.  All  are  agreed  as 
to  the  process  by  which  we  arrive  at  the  conception  of 
a  natural  law.  When  by  a  careful  observation  and 
collection  of  a  sufficient  number  of  particular   facts 


318  Sermons 

which  closely  resemble  each  other  we  proceed  to 
arrange  them  into  a  class,  we  denominate  the  gener- 
alized statement  thus  attained  a  law,  and  we  say  that 
the  facts  took  place  in  obedience  or  conformity  to  this 
law.  But  is  it  not  manifest  that  this  is  not  a  complete 
account  of  the  occurrence  of  the  facts  themselves  ?  The 
question  at  once  arises,  What  produced  the  facts,  for 
facts  are  things  done.  Wliat  is  that  by  which  they  are 
performed  or  accomplished?  It  will  not  do  to  say 
that  they  were  produced  by  law,  for  law  is  only  a  gen- 
eralization of  the  facts.  That  would  be  equivalent  to 
saying  that  the  facts  produced  themselves.  The  true 
answer  is  that  they  were  produced  by  power  operating 
in  a  fixed  and  regular  manner.  Natural  law  is  but  the 
fixed  and  uniform  mode  in  which  power  operates  to  the 
production  of  results.  We  are  accustomed  to  say  that 
the  solar  system  is  governed  by  the  law  of  gravitation. 
But  when  we  proceed  to  analyze  the  language,  we  are 
driven  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  a  mere  abstraction 
which  we  call  the  law  of  gravitation  which  holds  the 
parts  of  the  system  together.  There  is  the  force  of 
attraction  which  draws  worlds  to  worlds,  and  keeps 
them  in  their  appointed  places.  The  same  thing  is  true 
of  all  natural  laws,  of  chemical  affinity,  electricity, 
magnetism,  and  others  which  might  be  mentioned. 
These  are  but  expressions  of  the  regular  modes  in 
which  force  operates  to  the  production  of  certain 
results.  We  speak  of  the  law  of  vegetable  and  of 
animal  growth,  but  it  is  clear  that  there  is  something 
more  than  mere  law,  there  is  a  power  which  causes  the 
vegetable  or  the  animal  to  grow.  The  law  but  ex- 
presses the  method  in  which  that  power  acts.  When, 
therefore,  it  is  said  that  the  world  is  governed  by  cer- 
tain laws,  the  meaning,  to  be  intelligible,  is  that  it  is 


Girardeau  319 

controlled  by  power  which  operates  in  regular  and 
uniform  modes  in  producing  the  facts  of  nature.  And 
here  it  may  be  remarked  as  deserving  our  notice  that  a 
discussion  which  has  for  some  time  been  going  on,  and 
is  now  in  progress,  in  the  philosophical  circles  of 
Europe,  has  developed  the  theory,  which  is  ably  sus- 
tained, that  all  the  forces  of  nature  are  but  different 
modifications  of  one  and  the  same  original  and  central 
force.  The  attraction  of  gravitation  and  chemical 
affinity,  for  example,  are  but  diverse  manifestations  of 
the  same  great  force  in  different  relations,  and  under 
dissimilar  circumstances  and  conditions.  I  do  not 
mention  this  as  affording  a  ground  of  faith,  but  only 
as  indicating  the  fact  that  the  researches  of  science, 
when  properly  conducted,  corroborate  the  doctrines  of 
Scripture ;  and  that  the  utterances  of  nature,  in  regard 
to  subjects  upon  which  she  is  competent  to  speak  at 
all,  are  not  out  of  harmony  with  the  oracles  of  reve- 
lation. God's  works  and  God's  Word  are  the  comple- 
ment of  each  other, 

III.  The  inquiry  now  arises,  "VVliat  is  this  great 
power  which  produces  the  facts  of  nature?  Were  I 
instituting  a  merely  philosophical  argument,  the  issue, 
at  this  stage,  would  have  to  be  joined  with  the  atheist 
upon  the  question  whether  this  power  be  that  of  God, 
or  one  which  is  inherent  in  nature  itself.  I  do  not  feel 
that  I  am  called  upon  to  enter  into  those  lists.  But  it 
merits  our  attention  that  it  is  not  inconsistent  with 
their  purpose  for  those  who  urge  the  objection  to 
prayer  that  it  is  rendered  useless  by  the  operation  of 
general  laws,  to  admit  that  these  laws  are  but  man- 
ifestations of  a  power  which  is  divine.  This  is  the 
position  of  the  pantheistic  school,  which  numbers  its 
disciples  by  thousands,  and  is  supported  by  some  of  the 


320  Sermons 

most  splendid  names  in  philosophy  and  letters.  Con- 
cede to  them  their  doctrine  of  the  impersonality  of 
God,  and  you  admit  the  impossibility  of  prayer.  For, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  God  is  law  and  law  is  God, 
and  it  is  the  absurdest  of  all  absurdities  to  suppose 
that  prayer  may  be  rationally  offered  to  law.  There 
must  be  a  personal  being  before  prayer  can  be  con- 
ceived as  intelligible  or  possible,  and  it  is  alike  the 
deliverance  of  reason  and  of  Scripture  that  the  power 
which  governs  the  world  is  that  of  an  intelligent  and 
personal  God.  The  arguments  by  which  even  reason 
establishes  this  fundamental  principle  of  religion 
might,  did  time  permit,  be  impressively  exhibited,  but 
I  must  be  content  with  only  a  brief  intimation  of  one 
line  of  proof  which  appeals  to  the  experience  of  every 
human  being.  It  is  derived  from  the  testimony  of  our 
own  consciousness.  It  is  true,  my  brethren,  that  our 
knowledge  of  the  great,  the  infinite  God,  is  exceedingly 
small,  even  though  He  has  been  pleased  to  reveal 
Himself  to  us  in  His  Word.  But  He  has  given  us 
faculties  by  which  we  are  able  to  apprehend  some- 
what of  His  existence  and  His  attributes;  otherwise 
the  idea  of  God  would  be  to  us  an  impossibility  and 
His  name  an  unmeaning  cipher.  Man  was  originally 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  and  we  are  able  to  rise  to 
some  conception  of  His  nature  and  perfections  from 
the  imperfect  but  real  analogies  of  our  own  conscious- 
ness. Were  we  not  possessed  of  moral  attributes  it 
would  be  impossible  for  us  to  conceive  of  His  moral 
excellencies;  had  we  no  intellect,  we  could  not  appre- 
hend Him  as  an  intelligent  being;  and  had  we  no  will 
and  no  conscience,  we  could  not  acknowledge  Him  as 
the  Almighty  Euler  of  the  world.  From  our  possession 
of  these  faculties,  it  is  competent  for  us  to  infer  their 


GiRAKDEAU  321 

existence  in  Him,  although  in  an  infinitely  higher 
degree  of  perfection.  In  the  same  way  it  is  a  legitimate 
process  by  which  we  infer  from  our  consciousness  of 
personality  the  fact  of  the  personality  of  God.  It  is 
not  intended  to  affirm  that  our  consciousness  of  per- 
sonality is  direct  and  immediate.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  to  show  that  we  are  conscious  of  the  possession  of 
attributes  which  necessitate  the  conviction  of  the  fact 
of  our  personality.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  we  are 
conscious  of  our  individuality,  of  that  characteristic 
which  discriminates  us  from  all  other  beings;  that  we 
are  conscious  of  possessing  intelligence,  will  and  con- 
science; in  short,  that  we  are  conscious  of  attributes 
inhering  in  us  from  which  the  influence  is  necessary 
and  immediate  that  we  are  personal  beings.  This  leads 
us  to  the  conviction  of  God's  personality.  Although 
we  may  not  be  directly  conscious  of  the  fact,  any  more 
than  we  are  directly  conscious  of  the  existence  of  God, 
we  are  irresistibly  led  to  infer  the  divine  personality, 
just  as  we  are  necessarily  impelled  to  the  inference  of 
the  divine  existence.  Every  human  being  is  conscious 
that  he  is  different  from  everything  else,  that  what  is 
himself  is  not  anything  else,  and  that  nothing  else  is 
himself.  And  the  inference  is  clear,  that  as  God  is  a 
person,  He  is  different  from  everything  else,  that  God 
is  not  the  universe  and  the  universe  is  not  God.  All 
things  were  created  by  Him  and  in  Him  they  live  and 
move  and  have  their  being,  but  they  are  not  He,  and 
He  is  not  they.  This  must  be  so,  or  we  are  greater 
than  God.  It  is  the  fact  of  our  endowment  with  the 
noble  principle  of  personality  which  lifts  us,  poor  as 
we  are,  immeasurably  above  the  brutes  and  the 
sublimest  features  of  the  natural  world.  And  shall 
we  deny  to  God  an  excellence  which  distinguishes  us? 


322  Sermons 

The  Pantheist  is  met  by  the  dilemma, — either  we  are 
not  persons  and  then  our  nature  is  a  lie,  or  we  are 
persons  and  then  as,  according  to  his  hypothesis,  we 
are  God  and  God  is  we,  God  is  a  person,  and  the  whole 
pantheistic  theory  is  overthrown.  The  conviction  of 
the  divine  personality  is  indestructibly  imbedded  in  the 
heart  of  the  human  race.  Wherever  we  find  man,  in 
every  age  and  clime,  we  are  met  by  "oracles,  altars  and 
priests"  as  attestations  of  the  belief  that  personal  Deity 
exists,  that  men  may  worship  Him,  and  that  He  may  re- 
ceive the  worship  of  men.  And  this  great  truth  so  loudly 
and  unmistakably  proclaimed  by  human  consciousness 
is,  of  course,  the  fundamental  idea  in  which  revelation 
is  grounded.  There  must  be  a  i^ersonal  God  or  it  is 
impossible  to  conceive  that  He  could  communicate  to 
intelligent  beings  the  knowledge  of  Himself,  and  invite 
them  to  the  exalted  privilege  of  holding  communion 
with  Him.  The  fact  of  the  divine  personality  is 
stamped  upon  the  records  of  nature,  and  blazes  in  let- 
ters of  light  upon  the  awful  pages  of  a  written  revela- 
tion. To  strike  it  out  of  the  inmost  convictions  of  our 
minds  is  to  dash  out  the  lights  upon  the  altar  of  our 
souls,  and  to  render  religion  itself  a  mockery  and  a 
cheat.  To  blot  it  from  the  tablets  of  Scripture  is  to 
quench  the  rising  dawn  of  religious  hope  and  consign 
the  idea  of  a  Bible  and  a  scheme  of  redemption  to  the 
region  of  impossibilities. 

When,  therefore,  we  aflfirm  that  the  world  is  not 
simply  governed  by  law,  and  that  there  is  a  power 
which  lies  back  of  law,  and  operates  through  it  to  the 
production  of  the  facts  of  nature,  we  do  not  convey  the 
impression  that  this  is  a  blind  and  impersonal  power. 
It  is  the  sublime  and  active  energy  of  an  infinite  per- 


Girardeau  323 

sonal  God  whose  reign  is  above  law,  while  it  is  admin- 
istered through  it ;  a  Being  who 

"Warms  in  the  sun,  refreshes  in  the  breeze, 
Glows  in  the  stars,  and  rustles  in  the  trees ; 
Lives  through  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent, 
Speads  undivided,  operates  unspent." 

Let  it  be  conceded,  then,  that  the  power  which  gov- 
erns the  world  through  law  is  a  personal  God  and  you 
reach  the  doctrine  of  the  possibility  of  prayer.  We 
cannot  pray  to  law,  but  we  can  pray  to  the  God  who 
made  law  and  uses  it  as  an  instrument,  a  plan  upon 
which  He  creates,  develops  and  controls  a  system  of 
order,  harmony  and  beauty. 

IV.  But,  in  the  fourth  place,  admitting  the  person- 
ality of  God  and  the  consequent  possibility  of  prayer, 
it  will  still  be  urged  that  the  difficulty  has  been  shifted, 
but  not  removed.  For  if  God  governs  the  world  by 
general  laws,  the  same  objection  exists  to  the  utility 
and  efficacy  of  prayer.  The  system  of  government  is 
fixed  and  uniform  and  determines  beforehand  the 
destiny  of  the  individual.  Where,  then,  is  the  room 
for  prayer?  To  this  the  answer  is  obvious.  There  is 
no  impossibility,  even  on  rational  grounds,  of  con- 
ceiving that  God  has  in  the  ordination  of  the  system 
of  law  by  which  He  administers  the  government  of 
the  world  made  provision,  for  prayer  as  an  element 
in  the  scheme.  He  may  have  established  between  it 
and  the  results  which  are  sought  by  it  the  relation  of 
means  to  ends,  and  then  prayer,  so  far  from  being 
inconsistent  with  the  operation  of  law,  is  involved  in  its 
development  and  rendered  certainly  successful  by  its 
operation.     It  would  be  divested  of  contingency,  and 


324  Sermons 

possess,  when  sincerely  offered,  the  guarantee  and 
assurance  of  success.  I  cannot  do  better  than  by 
quoting,  on  this  point,  the  remarks  of  an  able  living 
writer,  who  combines  with  the  acuteness  of  a  philoso- 
pher the  humility  and  the  faith  of  a  Christian.  Says 
Dr.  McCosh :  "Dr  Chalmers  supposes  that  prayer  may 
be  answered  in  one  or  other  of  two  ways  in  perfect 
accordance  with  the  ordinary  procedure  of  God.  He 
supposes  that  prayer  and  its  answer  may  be  connected 
together  as  cause  and  effect,  that  they  may  form  a 
sequence  of  a  very  subtle  kind,  more  subtle  than  any 
of  the  sequences  of  the  most  latent  physical  substances, 
and  not,  therefore,  observable,  except  by  those  who 
have  that  nice  spiritual  discernment  which  is  com- 
municated by  faith.  Or,  he  supposes  that  God  may 
interpose  among  the  physical  agents  beyond  that 
limit  to  which  human  sagacity  can  trace  the  operation 
of  law.  .  .  .  He  might,  for  instance,  change  the 
laws  which  regulate  the  weather,  and  send  a  storm  or 
a  calm  at  any  given  place  or  time ;  or  He  might  modify 
the  laws  by  which  the  living  functions  of  the  human 
body  are  regulated,  and  send  health  or  disease,  and 
no  man  be  able  to  say  whether  there  has  been  an  inter- 
position or  not.  But  is  it  necessary,"  says  Dr.  McCosh, 
"to  resort  to  either  of  these  ingenious  theories?  Is 
there  not  a  more  obvious  means  by  which  God  can 
answer  the  prayer  of  faith  ?  It  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
pose that  prayer  and  its  answer  form  a  separate  law 
of  nature,  for  the  answer  may  come  as  the  result  of 
other  laws  arranged  for  this  very  purpose.  Nor  is  it 
needful  to  suppose  that  God  interposes  to  change  His 
own  laws.  The  analogy  of  His  method  of  operation 
in  other  matters  would  rather  incline  us  to  believe 
that  He  has   so   arranged   these  laws   that  by   their 


GlKAKDEAU  325 

agency  He  may  answer  prayer  without  at  all  interfer- 
ing with  them.  .  .  .  His  agents  were  at  first 
ordained  and  marshalled  by  Him  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  all  the  wise  designs  of  His  government;  and 
among  other  ends  they  may  bring  the  blessings  for 
which  faith  is  expected  to  supplicate.  He  sends  an 
answer  to  prayer  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  He 
compasses  all  His  other  moral  designs,  as  He  conveys 
blessings  and  inflicts  judgments.  He  does  not  require 
to  interfere  with  His  own  arrangements,  for  there  is 
an  answer  provided  in  the  arrangement  made  by  Him 
from  all  eternity.  How  is  it  that  God  sends  us  the 
bounties  of  His  providence  ?  how  is  it  that  He  supplies 
the  many  wants  of  His  creatures?  how  is  it  that  He 
encourages  industry?  how  is  it  that  He  arrests  the 
plots  of  wickedness  ?  how  is  it  that  He  punishes  in  this 
life  notorious  offenders  against  His  law  ?  The  answer 
is,  by  the  skilful  pre-arrangements  of  His  providence, 
whereby  the  needful  events  fall  out  at  the  very  time 
and  in  the  way  required.  When  the  question  is  asked : 
How  does  God  answer  prayer?  We  give  the  very 
same  reply, — it  is  by  a  pre-ordained  appointment  when 
God  settled  the  constitution  of  the  world  and  set  all  its 
parts  in  order." 

These  views,  so  far  as  they  go,  I  believe  to  be  as  just 
as  they  are  forcibly  expressed,  and  they  are  the  more 
strildng  as  they  do  not  indicate  a  method  of  answer- 
ing prayer  that  is  inconsistent  with  the  fact,  which 
every  fresh  discovery  of  science  tends  to  confirm,  that 
God  controls  the  world  through  the  medium  of  natural 
laws.  But  I  confess  that  if  this  statement  of  the  mode 
by  which  God  answers  prayer  were  intended  to  em- 
brace the  whole  truth  upon  the  subject,  which,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  case  on  the  part  of  the  writer  quoted,  it 


326  Sermons 

would  fail  to  present  an  aspect  of  the  subject  which  is 
inexpressibly  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Christian,  and 
with  which  he  could  not  for  an  instant  consent  to 
part.  That  view  is  that  God  is  personally  present  al- 
ways and  everywhere  in  the  working  of  the  scheme 
of  His  providence,  and  that  ttie  blessings  which  are 
conferred  in  answer  to  prayer  are  bestowed  by  His 
immediate  personal  act.  He  is  not,  in  accordance  with 
the  ancient  philosophical  idea,  though  admitted  to  be 
personal,  simply  the  first  cause  of  all  things,  who  con- 
structed the  world  as  a  vast  machine,  impressed  upon 
it  its  laws,  and  withdrew  from  a  subsequent  immediate 
interposition  in  its  affairs.  He  is  not,  so  to  speak, 
located  at  the  remote  end  of  the  series  of  second  causes. 
His  power  immediately  pervades  the  whole  series  in 
all  its  minutest  details,  circumstances  and  relations. 
He  is  perpetually  present  with  every  part  of  it,  and  as 
His  personality  can  no  more  be  divided  than  His  es- 
sence, He  is  personally  present  to  guide,  to  manage, 
and  to  energize  the  entire  system  in  all  its  parts.  Nor 
is  He  present  with  the  world,  conceived  as  a  great  liv- 
ing organism,  a  mere  principle  of  development  of  which 
its  life  is  the  general  result  and  its  parts  are  but  the 
special  modifications.  That  would  be  to  deny  His  per- 
sonality and  to  make  Him  substantially  identical  with 
the  world  and  the  world  with  Him.  He  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  life,  and  the  source  of  power,  but  He  is  a  per- 
son who  imparts  life,  a  person  who  infuses  power. 
He  is  different  from  the  world  while  He  is  with  it, 
and  the  world  is  different  from  Him  while  it  is  in  Him. 
He  giveth  to  all  life  and  breath  and  all  things.  In  Him 
all  creatures  live  and  move  and  have  their  being.  Let 
us  take  this  view  into  connection  with  the  other,  and 
we  are  able  to  see  how,  without  infringing  the  estab- 


Girardeau  327 

lished  order  of  natural  law,  God  may  provide  for  our 
wants,  listen  to  our  petitions,  and  bestow  the  answers 
to  prayer  by  His  own  personal  and  immediate  agency. 
This  is  the  precious  doctrine  of  a  special  providence, 
so  clearly  taught  us  by  the  Scriptures,  without  which 
the  world  would  be  but  a  cold  and  dreary  realm  under 
the  sway  of  an  iron  system  of  law,  with  no  God  to 
whom  we  could  draw  near  in  sweet  personal  com- 
munion, and  from  whom  we  could  derive  a  present 
help  amid  the  stormy  vicissitudes  of  life.  No,  my 
brethren,  we  are  not  under  the  rigid  reign  of  naked  and 
absolute  law.  We  are  not  doomed  by  the  stern  necessi- 
ties of  our  being  to  pray  to  mere  abstractions,  to  cry  to 
no  purpose,  with  the  false  prophets  of  old,  "O  Baal, 
hear  us,  O  Baal,  hear  us!"  We  are  under  the  special 
providence  of  a  personal  God  who  clothes  the  lilies, 
feeds  the  ravens,  notices  the  death  of  the  sparrow,  and 
bows  down  a  listening  ear  to  the  faintest  breathings  of 
true  desire  from  the  humblest  broken  hearts  of  His 
creatures. 

V.  I  hasten  to  a  conclusion  with  the  remark,  that  the 
God  who  rules  the  world  has  been  pleased  in  His  word 
to  reveal  Himself  to  us  under  the  relations  of  a  Father, 
a  Savior,  and  a  Friend,  and  graciously  invites  us  to 
pray  to  Him  as  He  is  made  known  to  us  in  these  lovely 
and  endearing  characters.  It  is  with  a  feeling  of  relief 
that  we  emerge  from  the  swamps  and  thickets  of  a 
tangled  and  abstract  discussion  into  the  open  fields  and 
cheering  sunlight  of  God's  blessed  word.  Here  the 
plainest  and  most  unlettered  believer  in  Jesus  may  take 
his  stand  and  invincibly  maintain  his  ground  against 
the  most  subtle  and  specious  assaults  upon  his  faith  of 
philosophy  and  science  falsely  so  called.  God  speaks 
to  him.    It  IS  enough.    He  accepts  the  divine  testimony 


328  Sermons 

and  relies  upon  it  though  a  world  should  pronounce  it 
a  lie.  And  what  the  word  of  God  declares  to  him  finds 
a  response  in  his  own  experience  which  the  storms  of 
infidelity  cannot  beat  down,  or  the  jeers  of  skepticism 
silence.  Yes,  my  friends,  the  Great  Being  who  created 
the  world,  stamps  His  laws  upon  it,  and  manages  its 
affairs  by  His  infinite  wisdom  and  almighty  providence 
— ^the  God  who  thunders  in  the  heavens  and  rides  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind,  proclaims  Himself  to  us  worth- 
less sinners  as  our  Father  in  Christ  Jesus  His  Son. 
We  are  taught  to  address  Him  as  "our  Father  in 
heaven."  He  thus  tenderly  expostulates  with  us  amidst 
the  waywardness  of  early  life:  "Wilt  thou  not  from 
this  time  say.  My  Father,  Thou  art  the  guide  of  my 
youth?"  He  instructs  us  to  say,  "Doubtless  Thou  art 
our  Father,  though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us  and 
Israel  acknowledge  us  not."  Hear  how  movingly  He 
appeals  to  our  own  emotions,  and  derives  from  them 
exhortations  to  us  to  confide  in  His  paternal  love  in  all 
our  weaknesses  and  distresses :  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  Him; 
for  He  knoweth  our  frame.  He  remembereth  that  we 
are  but  dust.  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child 
that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on  her  son  ?  Yea, 
she  may  forget,  yet  will  I  remember  thee.  For  a  small 
moment  I  have  forsaken  thee,  but  with  everlasting 
mercies  will  I  have  compassion  on  thee."  "If  ye,  then, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  chil- 
dren, how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?"  and  is 
this  so?  Then,  if  He  be  indeed  our  Father,  tender, 
merciful  and  pitiful',  surely  as  His  children  we  may 
come  to  Him  and  make  known  to  Him  our  requests. 
Sick,  poor,  needy,  blind,  miserable,  naked,  we  will  come 


Girardeau  329 

to  Him  and  tell  Him  all  our  wants.  And  can  a  Father's 
heart  be  steeled  against  the  entreaties  of  His  children 
who  cry  to  Him  from  the  depths  of  such  afflictions  ?  Tell 
us  not  He  governs  the  world  by  general  laws  and  can- 
not listen  to  the  prayers  of  individuals.  And  shall  a 
Father's  laws  imprison  the  outgoings  of  a  Father's 
heart  ?  Who  would  ever  dream  that  the  more  perfectly 
an  earthly  parent  administers  the  government  of  his 
household  and  manages  its  affairs  by  wise  rules,  and 
systematic  arrangements,  the  less  likely  He  would  be 
to  hear  the  requests  of  His  children  ?  And  why  should 
God  be  prevented  by  the  laws  which  He  Himself  ad- 
ministers from  answering  the  prayers  of  His  children  ? 
Of  what  avail  is  it  that  He  is  our  Father  and  we  His 
children  if  we  cannot  make  bold  to  come  into  His  pres- 
ence, to  cling  to  His  knees  and  ask  His  paternal  bene- 
diction? Let  men  of  science  sneer  as  they  may  at  the 
fancied  inefficacy  and  absurdity  of  prayer,  God  is  our 
Father,  and  we  can  pray  to  Him,  and  He  will  hear  our 
voice.  "Let  us,  therefore,  come  boldly  to  the  throne 
of  grace  that  we  may  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to 
help  in  time  of  need."  He  gave  His  Son  to  die  for 
us ;  how  shall  He  not,  with  Him,  also  freely  give  us  all 
things  ? 

But  what,  above  all,  gives  us  assurance  of  the  efficacy 
of  our  prayers  is  the  fact  that  the  procedures  of 
providence  are  instituted  and  the  laws  of  the  world 
are  administered  by  One  who  is  at  once  a  Savior,  a 
Brother,  and  a  Friend.  "The  Father,"  said  the  Lord 
Jesus,  in  His  parting  words  to  His  diciples,  "the  Father 
hath  given  all  things  into  My  hands."  All  things  are 
put  in  subjection  under  His  feet,  and  nothing  is  ex- 
cepted from  His  sway,  but  He  who  did  put  all  things 
under  Him.     The  hands  that  were  pierced  with  the 


330  Sermons 

nails  of  Calvary  wield  the  sceptre  of  limitless  domin- 
ion. The  head  that  was  lacerated  and  dishonored  with 
the  crown  of  thorns  is  graced  with  many  crowns  and 
blazes  with  diadems  that  symbolize  a  manifold  and  uni- 
versal rule.  There  is  not  an  element  of  nature,  not  a 
force  of  nature,  not  a  living  being  of  nature,  which 
Jesus  does  not  hold  in  His  power  and  use  at  His  will. 
He  purchased  the  control  of  the  world  in  the  name  of 
His  people  by  the  price  of  His  blood.  Nor  does  His 
empire  stop  here.  It  is  established  above  the  throne  of 
death  and  sweeps. away,  parallel  with  the  future  des- 
tiny of  men,  across  the  dread  borders  of  time  and 
eternity  into  the  invisible  realm  of  disembodied  spirits. 
"I  am  He,"  He  triumphantly  exclaims,  "that  liveth  and 
was  dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  forevermore.  Amen. 
And  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death."  And  let  it 
be  remembered,  as  a  source  of  unspeakable  consolation 
to  us,  that  this  administration  of  providence,  this  con- 
trol of  the  laws  by  which  the  world  is  governed,  is 
committed  to  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  bene- 
fit and  salvation  of  His  people.  "All  things,"  says  the 
great  apostle,  addressing  believers,  "all  things  are 
yours;  whether  Paul  or  ApoUos,  or  Cephas,  or  the 
world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to 
come;  all  are  yours;  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is 
God's."  And  can  we  believe  that  the  laws  of  nature 
which  Christ  Himself  administers  and  through  which 
He  displays  His  power  shall  ever  be  barriers  betwixt 
His  heart  and  the  prayers  of  His  people?  No,  my 
brethren,  the  Savior  who  died  for  us,  the  Brother  who 
passed  through  the  flaming  furnace  of  affliction  that 
He  might  know  how  to  sympathize  with  us,  will  toler- 
ate no  impediment  to  the  communication  of  His  love  to 
His  people,  or  the  passage  of  His  people's  prayers  to 
Him. 


Girardeau  331 


THE  REST  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GOD 

Hebrews  iv  :9.  ''''There  remaineth^  therefore^  a  rest  to 
the  people  of  GodP 

The  first  part  of  this  epistle  is  occupied  in  showing 
that  the  advantages  accruing  to  the  Hebrews  from  their 
profession  of  Christianity  were  superior  to  those  which 
they  would  have  enjoyed  had  they  continued  their  ad- 
herence to  Judaism.  In  an  elaborate  comparison  which 
the  apostle  institutes  between  Christ  and  the  ministries 
of  the  old  dispensation,  he  proves  the  infinite  supe- 
riority of  the  Savior  to  the  prophets,  to  the  angels 
through  whose  hands  the  law  was  dispensed,  to  Moses, 
and  to  the  Aaronic  j^riesthood.  And  in  the  argument 
in  which  the  text  occurs  he  evinces  the  pre-eminence  of 
Jesus  over  Joshua  as  a  leader,  and  of  the  rest  into 
which  he  introduces  the  people  of  God  over  that  into 
which  Israel  was  conducted  by  their  illustrious  captain. 
In  the  prosecution  of  this  branch  of  the  comparison 
the  apostle  mentions  several  kinds  of  rest,  in  order  to 
show  what  was  not  and"  what  is  that  rest  which  re- 
maineth  for  the  people  of  God.  In  the  first  place,  he 
adverts  to  the  rest  into  which  God  entered  when  he 
ceased  from  the  works  of  creation,  of  which  the  Sab- 
bath was  originally  designed  to  be  a  reminder  and  a 
monument.  Had  man  remained  in  His  primitive  in- 
tegrity he  would  have  enjoyed  a  rest  in  God  of  which 

Note. — The  purpose  of  this  sermon  was  evidently  to  comfort  those 
whose  hearts  were  sore.  A  note  says :  "Delivered  in  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  Charleston,  in  the  summer  of  1865 — the  year 
when  the  war  closed — to  a  great  congregation  from  all  the  dismantled 
Presbyterian  churches  of  the  city." 


332  Sermons 

the  perpetual  recurrence  of  the  Sabbath  was  a  beauti- 
ful type.  But,  as  he  sinned,  that  natural  institute  was 
suited  at  once  to  remind  him  of  the  rest  which  he  had 
lost,  and  to  convince  him  of  his  need  of  another. 
Neither,  therefore,  the  rest  into  which  God  as  Creator 
entered,  nor  the  Sabbath  which  was  its  sign,  could  be 
that  which  now  remains  to  the  people  of  God.  Nor, 
argues  the  apostle,  can  the  temporal  rest  into  which 
Israel  was  led  by  Joshua  be  that  which  still  exists  for 
us.  For  long  after  the  occupation  of  the  promised  land 
and  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  it  contained,  the 
Holy  Spirit  through  David  made  mention  of  another 
day  of  rest.  If  Joshua  had  given  them  rest,  then 
would  not  God  have  spoken  of  another  day.  When, 
then,  the  apostle  expresses  it  as  his  conclusion  that 
there  remaineth  a  rest  to  the  people  of  God,  he  does 
not  mean  to  intimate  that  there  is  no  present  rest  which 
it  is  possible  to  attain,  and  that  the  future  alone  can 
disclose  it,  but  that,  over  and  above  those  other  sorts 
of  rest  which  he  had  mentioned,  there  remains  another 
which  is  to  be  discriminated  from  them.  The  last  kind 
of  rest  to  which  he  alludes  is  that  which  is  brought  to 
our  notice  in  his  declaration,  that  "he  that  is  entered 
into  his  rest  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own  works  as 
God  did  from  His."  I  am  unable  to  understand  these 
words,  unless  the  reference  be  to  Christ.  The  argument 
appears  to  be  that  as  God,  as  Creator,  finished  His 
works  and  entered  into  rest,  so  Christ,  as  Mediator  and 
Redeemer,  has  closed  His  labors  and  entered  into  His 
rest.  And  as  the  Sabbath  originally  was  designed  to 
be  a  sign  of  rest  from  the  works  of  creation,  the  Lord's 
day  is  intended  to  represent  to  us  the  rest  which  suc- 
ceeded the  labors  of  redemption.  Now,  as  Jesus  acted 
in  the  capacity  of  a  public  person — as  a  federal  head 


Girardeau  333 

and  leader  of  His  people — in  accomplishing  His  media- 
torial functions,  in  the  same  character  He  entered  into 
rest.  He  has  secured  for  them  a  rest  into  which  they 
are  exhorted  to  enter  by  faith.  To  believe  is  to  enter 
into  that  rest,  to  disbelieve  is  to  be  excluded  from  it. 
He  who  believes  enters  now  into  it.  For,  declares  the 
apostle,  we  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest.  The 
rest,  therefore,  into  which  Christ  introducs  His  people 
by  means  of  their  faith  in  His  atoning  labors  is  that 
which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God,  the  only,  the 
true  Sabbatism  of  the  soul.  Though  in  its  own  nature 
perfect,  it  is  in  the  present  life,  in  consequence  of  the 
corruptions  which  exist  in  believers,  partial  and  incom- 
plete in  the  extent  of  its  realization.  The  day  will 
come  when,  concurrently  with  the  perfect  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  soul,  it  will  be  consummate  in  degree  as  well 
as  in  nature.  The  heavenly  rest  is  but  the  complement 
of  that  which  the  believer  now  enjoys  in  Christ.  He 
who  now  rests  by  faith  in  his  Redeemer  will  ultimately 
rest  in  heaven.  But  in  each  case  He  who  confers  the 
rest  is  Christ. 

The  question  now  occurs,  what  is  the  nature  of  that 
rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God,  and  into 
which  Jesus  as  their  leader  conducts  them?  The  term 
rest  is  a  correlative  one.  It  stands  related  both  to 
labor  and  to  pain.  He  who  ceases  from  wearisome  and 
exhausting  toil  is  said  to  rest,  and  so  with  him  who  is 
relieved  from  torturing  pain.  The  soldier,  who  in  a 
parched  climate  and  under  a  burning  sun  has  been  ex- 
hausted by  a  day's  march,  knows  the  sweetness  of  rest, 
when  at  evening  he  stretches  his  wearied  limbs  on  some 
leafy  bed,  and  composes  himself  to  slumber.  The  sick 
man,  who  for  long  days  and  nights  has  tossed  on  his 
couch,  scorched  by  fever  or  racked  by  pain,  is  prepared 


334  Sermons 

to  understand  the  gratefulness  of  rest.  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  show  that  both  of  these  elements  enter  into 
the  composition  of  that  rest  which  Jesus  promises  to 
His  people. 

I.  It  may  be  remarked,  in  the  first  place,  that  this 
rest  involves  a  cessation  of  those  anxious  and  futile 
labors  by  which  we  attempt  to  secure  our  justification. 

When  men  are  profoundly  convinced  that  in  conse- 
quence of  their  sins  there  is  a  breach  betwixt  them  and 
their  Maker;  that  He  is  their  judicial  enemy;  that  His 
broken  law  demands  their  punishment,  and  His  holi- 
ness, justice,  and  truth  conspire  to  enforce  this  claim, 
they  address  themselves  to  the  discharge  of  duties  and 
the  performance  of  labors  in  the  hope  that  they  will 
thus  be  enabled  to  avert  their  doom,  and  propitiate  the 
favor  of  God.  But  there  are  two  insuperable  difficul- 
ties which  oppose  the  success  of  their  schemes.  The 
sentence  is  already  pronounced  which  ensures  their 
condemnation  on  the  ground  of  past  offences,  and  it  is 
impossible  that  they  should,  by  their  own  efforts,  fur- 
nish an  adequate  expiation  of  their  guilt,  and  a  satis- 
factory reparation  to  the  divine  government.  No  finite 
sacrifices  will  avail  to  atone  for  the  infinite  guiltiness 
of  their  sins.  When  all  their  prayers  have  been  offered, 
all  their  tears  been  shed,  all  their  arduous  toils  been 
.accomplished,  the  barriers  to  reconciliation  to  God  are 
discovered  to  be  just  as  impassable  as  ever,  and  the 
prospect  of  reaching  the  end  of  their  efforts  as  remote 
as  when  they  commenced  them.  Unfortunately  for 
them,  too,  the  sinful  principle  within  them,  which  no 
endeavors  of  their  own  can  eradicate,  is  so  intensely 
hostile  to  the  worship  and  service  of  God  that  all  the 
labors  which  they  expend  in  that  direction  are  attended 
necessarily  with  perpetual  and  consuming  misery.    In- 


Girardeau  335 

stead  of  attaining  rest  they  increase  their  unrest.  Their 
convictions  of  the  necessity  of  laboring  are  enhanced 
by  their  disappointments,  and  their  disappointments 
are  deepened  by  the  mortifying  failure  of  their  efforts. 
In  this  deplorable  condition  Jesus  offers  them  rest. 
He  reveals,  by  His  gospel,  the  fact  that  He  has,  as  the 
substitute  of  sinners,  taken  their  place,  assumed  their 
legal  obligations,  obeyed  the  law  in  their  room,  in  His 
life  furnishing  perfect  obedience  to  its  precepts,  and  in 
His  expiatory  death  exhausting  its  awful  curse;  and 
that  having  finished  these.  His  mediatorial  labors,  He 
has  entered  into  rest  and  secured  for  those  who  believe 
in  Him  exemption  from  the  necessity  of  incurring  vain 
and  painful  labors  for  the  purpose  of  attaining  their 
own  justification.  The  work  in  order  to  justification 
has  been  done  and  perfectly  done  by  Him.  To  that 
end  there  remains  nothing  further  to  be  done  by  the 
sinner  save  only  to  accept,  by  faith,  His  vicarious  work, 
and  to  cease  from  all  labors  of  his  own.  When,  there- 
fore, the  question  is  asked  by  the  anxious  and  inquir- 
ing sinner.  What  work  must  I  do  that  I  may  be  saved, 
the  answer  invariably  is  from  Christ  and  His  apostles 
alike:  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Faith  is  a 
confession  of  impotence.  The  believer's  language  is, 
I  can  do  nothing  to  save  myself;  I  renounce  my  own 
work  as  utterly  worthless;  I  accept  the  work  of  the 
Savior  and  implicitly  rely  upon  that  and  that  alone. 
He  who  believes  has  the  labors  of  Christ  imputed  to 
him  as  if  he  had  performed  them  in  his  own  person, 
and  receives  the  result  of  those  labors — an  entrance  for 
his  vexed  and  troubled  soul  into  the  rest  that  remains 
for  God's  people. 

He  desists  from  his  anxious  and  fruitless  toil  to  win 
his  own  justification.     He  is  justified  in  Christ,  and 


336  Sermons 

being  so  justified,  he  obtains,  without  any  works  of  his 
own,  that  "peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understand- 
ing." As  Jesus  entered  into  His  rest  when  He  ceased 
from  His  labors,  the  soul  that  believes  in  Him  and  ap- 
propriates His  works  as  its  own  passes  with  the  Savior 
into  the  same  peaceful  and  blessed  condition. 

II.  The  second  element  of  the  rest  which  the  believer 
enjoys  in  Christ  is  his  exemption  from  the  tortures  of 
a  guilty  and  accusing  conscience. 

The  question  whether  we  enjoy  any  true  and  sub- 
stantial rest  of  spirit  in  this  painful  life  depends  upon 
the  answer  which  we  are  able  to  give  to  another  ques- 
tion: De  we  possess  a  peaceful  or  a  guilty  and  trou- 
bled conscience?  This  faculty  has  been  shown  by  an 
able  living  writer  to  unite  in  itself  the  threefold  func- 
tions of  a  law,  a  witness  and  a  judge.  In  the  first  of 
these  aspects,  it  reflects  the  majesty  and  authority  of 
that  eternal  standard  of  rectitude  which  is  founded  in 
the  very  nature  of  God.  The  original  rule  of  conduct 
indestructibly  imbedded  in  the  constitution  of  man, 
is,  when  unbiassed  by  the  false  and  perverted  represen- 
tation of  facts  furnished  by  the  understanding,  in  per- 
fect accord  with  the  Scriptures.  Though  not  like  them 
formally  expressed  in  a  written  document,  it  is  indeli- 
bly inscribed  upon  the  tablets  of  the  soul.  It  implicitly 
contains  those  fundamental  principles  of  rectitude 
which  are  capable  of  application  to  every  mental  state 
of  which  we  can  be  conscious,  and  to  every  act  which  it 
is  possible  for  us  to  perform.  It  is  God's  law  in  the 
human  soul,  its  utterances  are  His  utterances,  and  when 
it  speaks,  it  thunders  with  His  voice,  and  clothes  itself 
with  the  awful  sanctions  of  His  authority.  Disobedi- 
ence to  conscience  is  disobedience  to  God.  In  its  second 
phase — that  of  a  witness — it  takes  notice  of  all  our 


GiRAKDEAU  337 

moral  acts,  keeps,  so  to  speak,  a  record  of  our  sins,  and 
is  prepared  to  furnish  its  true  and  unerring  testimony 
against  us  in  every  instance  of  transgression.  Nor  are 
its  records  ever  completely  lost  or  destroyed.  As  if 
graven  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  in  the  everlasting 
rock,  its  memoranda  of  our  offences  are  absolutely  in- 
delible. They  may  for  the  time  be  forgotten  by  the 
sinner  himself;  he  may  suppose  them  to  be  buried  in 
the  grave  of  the  past  beyond  the  power  of  resurrec- 
tion to  resuscitate  them ;  but  when,  in  sudden  and  criti- 
cal emergencies  the  fears  of  the  future  are  thoroughly 
aroused  as  in  moments  of  inmiinent  peril,  or  in  the 
solemn  hour  of  death,  bursting  into  light  through  all 
the  overlapping  inscriptions  of  years,  these  records  of 
guilt,  filed  away  in  the  court  of  conscience,  stand  out  in 
bold  relief  to  the  startled  memory  of  the  transgressor, 
and  are  fastened  as  charges  upon  him  by  a  witness 
which  speaks  with  the  veracity  of  God.  Its  power  is 
still  more  sensibly  felt,  and  its  sanctions  become  still 
more  impressive,  when  we  reflect  that,  in  addition  to  the 
characteristics  which  have  been  mentioned,  it  dis- 
charges the  functions  of  a  judge.  Itself  the  witness  of 
offences  against  its  own  legal  requirements,  it  pro- 
nounces upon  the  transgressor  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation. Nor  is  it  possible  to  slight  its  judicial  de- 
cisions. It  speaks  for  God  when  it  delivers  them,  and 
refers  for  their  authentication  to  His  supreme  author- 
ity and  for  their  ultimate  enforcement  to  His  final  bar. 
It  sits,  in  this  point  of  view,  on  a  minor  judgment-seat 
in  the  soul  of  man,  arraigns  the  offender  with  divine 
authority  before  it,  with  divine  majesty  utters  the  sen- 
tence of  condemnation,  and  binds  him  over  to  a  higher 
court,  to  a  more  awful  judicial  day,  and  to  the  tremen- 
dous solemnities  of  the  last  assize.     It  is  no  marvel, 


338  Sermons 

then,  that  it  has  power  by  its  thunders  to  break  the 
slumber  of  the  sinner,  and  to  rob  him  of  his  fancied 
rest.  It  is  possible,  when  conscience  smiles  upon  us, 
when  its  sentence  of  approbation  supports  the  soul,  to 
breast  with  serenity  the  severest  storms  of  adversity, 
to  oppose  with  singular  constancy  the  unreasonable  de- 
mands of  faction,  and  to  pass  with  undaunted  forti- 
tude to  the  rack,  the  gibbet  and  the  stake.  He  who  is 
sustained  by  an  enlightened  conscience  is  supported  by 
the  power  of  God;  and  he  may  well  exclaim,  If  God 
is  for  me,  who  can  be  against  me?  "Though  an  host 
should  encamp  against  me,  my  heart  shall  not  fear. 
Though  war  should  rise  against  me,  in  this  will  I  be 
confident."  When,  on  the  contrary,  conscience  frowns 
upon  the  transgressor,  when  its  sentences,  muttered  in 
the  depths  of  the  soul  like  the  first  growls  of  a  coming 
tempest  herald  the  swift  approach  of  the  final  judg- 
ment, it  dissolves  his  natural  courage,  unstrings  the 
resolution  of  his  heart,  blanches  his  face  with  mortal 
paleness,  peoples  his  dying  chamber  with  shapes  of 
terrors,  crowds  the  valley  of  the  death-shade  with  exe- 
cutioners of  vengeance,  and  blackens  the  awful  future 
before  him  with  the  aspect  of  an  eternal  storm.  The 
most  consuming  care  which  one  can  experience  is  de- 
rived from  the  accusations  of  a  guilty  conscience.  It 
admits  of  no  rest.  It  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  all 
the  pains  of  the  body,  and  all  the  engines  of  physical 
torture.  Happily  for  us,  my  brethren,  a  refuge  is  pro- 
vided for  us  from  this  intolerable  evil.  From  the  pangs 
of  an  accusing  conscience  Jesus  Christ  offers  us  rest. 
There  is  no  other  remedy  for  our  unrest  but  in  the 
atoning  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  infinite  mercy  of  God 
in  furnishing  a  glorious  substitute  who  assumes  our 
guilt  and  consents  to  undergo  its  penal  consequences, 


Girardeau  339 

aflfords  us  an  escape  from  the  dreadful  lash  of  con- 
science. Himself  holy,  harmless  and  undefiled,  Jesus 
suffers  our  sins  to  be  accounted  His,  permits  them  to 
be  bound  upon  His  soul,  and  yields  Himself  a  victim 
to  the  punishment  which  must  otherwise  have  sunk  us 
to  the  lowest  hell.  His  death  discharges  the  believer 
from  the  obligation  to  suffer  in  his  own  person — His 
blood  quenches  the  lightnings  of  an  angry  conscience, 
silences  its  accusations,  and  purges  it  from  dead  works 
to  serve  the  living  God.  Who  can  estimate  the  relief 
which  faith  in  a  dying  Savior  brings  to  the  poor  sin- 
ner whose  troubled  conscience  had  made  this  life  a 
burden,  and  the  life  to  come  an  object  of  unutterable 
dread?  None,  none  but  he  who  has  experimentally 
known  the  sweetness  of  that  rest  which  the  conscience- 
smitten  spirit  finds  in  the  grace  of  a  compassionate 
Redeemer.  There  be  some  of  us,  perhaps,  in  this  as- 
sembly today  to  whom  it  is  not  difficult  to  recall  a  time 
when  we  suffered  from  legal  convictions,  from  the 
goadings  of  an  unpurged  conscience,  and  the  apprehen- 
sions of  eternal  wrath. 

The  fires  of  passion  raged  within,  and  there  was  no 
means  of  quenching  them*  the  conflict  with  wicked 
habits  grew  fiercer  and  more  bitter,  and  no  succor  was 
nigh;  the  commandment  pressed  with  power  upon  our 
souls,  sin  revived,  and  we  died ;  and  ever  as  the  percep- 
tion of  our  criminality  became  more  vivid,  the  sentence 
of  doom  uttered  from  within  us  like  the  blast  of  a 
trumpet  waxed  louder  and  louder.  At  every  step  we 
seemed  to  be  confronted  with  the  terrors  of  Sinai — its 
blackness,  smoke  and  flame, — and  to  draw  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  verge  of  a  fiery  and  bottomless  abyss. 
Darkness  encompassed  us,  tempestuous  billows  rolled 
over  our  heads,  and  our  fainting  souls  took  hold  on 


340  Sermons 

hell.  In  that  hour  of  extremity  a  voice  of  ineffable  ten- 
derness, as  of  one  in  quest  of  the  wretched  and  the 
lost,  was  heard  exclaiming:  "Come  unto  Me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  We  listened,  wondered,  ventured  to  come,  be- 
lieved the  gracious  word,  and  found,  in  the  bosom  of 
Jesus,  rest  from  the  pangs  of  conscience  and  the  fears 
of  hell.  The  night  of  despair  was  suffused  with  the 
morning  light  of  heaven,  and  our  hearts  broke  forth 
into  the  grateful  song:  "Thou  hast  delivered  our 
souls  from  death,  our  eyes  from  tears,  and  our  feet 
from  falling."  Conscience,  pacified  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  withdrew  its  charges,  acquitted  us  of  guilt,  and 
bade  us  enter  into  that  rest  which  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God. 

III.  A  third  element,  which  I  would  mention  as  con- 
stituting that  rest  which  remaineth  to  the  people  of 
God,  is  deliverance  from  the  tyrannical  dominion  of 
sin  and  Satan, 

Christ  gives  us  rest  not  only  from  bondage  to  the 
guilt  of  sin,  but  also  to  its  power,  and  He  affords  us, 
moreover,  deliverance  from  the  galling  yoke  of  the 
Devil.  This  He  accomplishes,  I  conceive,  in  a  three- 
fold manner.  In  the  first  place.  He  extends  to  us  in 
our  conflicts  with  our  spiritual  foes  the  powerful  suc- 
cor of  His  grace.  I  use  this  word  in  the  sense  of  an 
active  and  energetic  principle.  "When  employed  in 
reference  to  the  subject  of  justification  the  term  grace, 
so  far  as  I  am  able  to  perceive,  always  expresses  one  of 
two  things :  either  the  favorable  disposition  of  God  to 
sinners,  or  that  state  of  favor  into  which  they  are  in- 
troduced by  the  justifying  righteousness  of  Christ. 
"We  are  justified  by  grace"  would  be  an  instance  of 
the   former   signification;    "we  have   access   into   this 


Girardeau  341 

grace  wherein  we  stand"  is  an  example,  probably,  of 
the  latter.  When  used  in  reference  to  sanctification 
the  term  not  unfrequently  signifies  that  vital  energy, 
that  powerful,  operative  principle,  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  employs  as  a  positive  clement  of  strength  in  the 
soul  of  the  believer.  When,  for  example,  the  Savior, 
in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  apostle  that  the  thorn 
in  His  flesh  might  be  removed,  assured  him  that  His 
grace  was  sufficient  for  him,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  He  promised  him  the  aid  of  an  efficacious  princi- 
ple which  would  strengthen  him  for  the  endurance  of 
the  trial  and  give  him  the  victory  over  the  temptation. 

When  by  faith  we  become  united  to  Christ  we  are 
made  partakers  of  this  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
was  purchased  for  us  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  is 
dispensed  by  Him  in  proportion  to  the  exigencies  of 
His  people.  Without  this  divine  gift  we  can  do  noth- 
ing, our  attempts  to  resist  the  dominion  of  our  lusts 
are  miserable  failures,  and  we  become  the  sport  of  our 
temptations  and  the  prey  of  the  Devil.  With  it  the 
feeblest  believer  is  in  a  measure,  even  in  this  life, 
emancipated  from  bondage  to  his  corruptions  and 
blessed  with  rest  from  the  tyrannical  dominion  of 
Satan.  It  positively  reinforces  his  weakness,  is  an 
actual  strength  in  his  impotence,  and  gives  him  suc- 
cess in  conflicts  which  would  otherwise  but  plunge  him 
deeper  into  a  wretched  slavery  of  the  soul. 

In  the  next  place,  Christ  communicates  to  us  rest 
from  the  oppressive  power  of  our  sins  by  generating 
in  us  that  faith  which  is  the  victory  that  overcometh 
the  world.  There  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation  in  which  the  saints,  who  have  attained 
to  heavenly  felicity,  are  represented  as  having  over- 
come the  Devil  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  word 


342  Sermons 

of  their  testimony.  Here  we  have  indicated  the  instru- 
ment by  which  we  successfully  oppose  the  assaults  of 
Satan,  a  potent  talisman  which,  when  borne  with  us, 
dissolves  the  spell  of  passion  and  breaks  the  force  of 
temptation.  It  is  faith  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Although  there  may  be  other  modes  by  which  these 
results  are  accomplished  through  the  blood  of  Jesus,  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  chief  significance  of  this  pas- 
sage lies  in  this,  that  a  view  by  faith  of  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb  poured  out  for  sin  conveys  such  a  sense  of 
its  enormity  as  induces  abhorrence  of  it,  and  the  pro- 
foundest  penitence  for  its  commission.  He  alone  is 
prepared  to  cope  with  sin  who  beholds  its  effect  as 
exhibited  in  the  effusion  of  Jesus'  blood.  And  He  who 
is  not  melted  to  penitence  by  that  sight,  and  is  not 
moved  by  it  to  abandon  his  sins,  will  in  vain  appeal  to 
any  other  motive  or  employ  any  other  means  to  sub- 
due the  power  of  his  lusts.  But  by  imparting  to  us  a 
faith  which  finds  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  the  most  power- 
ful argument  for  resistance  to  temptation,  the  Savior 
communicates  to  us  rest  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and 
the  oppression  of  the  Devil. 

It  may  further  be  observed  that  Christ  gives  us  rest 
from  the  tyranny  of  sin,  as  He  extends  to  us  a  sympa- 
thy which  cheers  us  in  the  depression  which  results 
from  conflicts  with  temptation.  This  sympathy  is  the 
fruit  of  His  own  experience  while  undergoing  the 
furious  assaults  of  the  Devil.  Taught  Himself  by  bit- 
ter discipline  in  the  school  of  trial.  He  extends  His 
sympathy  to  us  heartily  and  freely  while  we  encounter 
difficulties  akin  to  His  own.  This  is  the  most  precious 
cordial  which  we  can  have  when  fainting  amidst  our 
contests  with  sin  and  Satan.  We  rest  in  it.  It  soothes 
the  anguished  spirit  and  stimulates  us  to  renewed  exer- 


Girardeau  343 

tions  in  a  battle  which  we  are  conscious  we  are  not 
fighting  alone.  Christ  is  with  us.  That  fact  gives  us 
partial  rest  in  the  very  drift  of  the  conflict  on  earth, 
and  conveys  the  assurance  of  a  perfect  triumph  and  a 
complete  rest  at  last. 

IV.  Still  another  element  of  the  rest  which  Jesus 
confers  consists  in  relief  from  the  painful  disquietudes 
which  spring  from  temporal  afflictions,  and  from 
changes  in  our  earthly  circumstances. 

The  chief  sting  of  affliction  lies  in  the  conviction 
that  it  is  penal.  The  sense  of  ill-desert  is  the  natural 
and  necessary  effect  of  our  sins;  and  when  we  regard 
the  sufferings  of  life  as  punitive  visitations,  as  evi- 
dences of  the  fact  that  God  is  dealing  with  us  in  the 
capacity  of  an  unsparing  Judge,  and  that  His  dispen- 
sations toward  us  are  the  measures  of  retributive  jus- 
tice, our  condition  is  truly  deplorable.  Cut  off  by  the 
very  pressure  of  sorrow  from  all  external  sources  of 
relief,  we  find  in  our  inward  consciousness  no  mitiga- 
tion of  the  trial.  On  the  contrary,  reflection  upon  our 
own  state  serves  only  to  convince  us  that  we  suffer 
justly,  and  this  conviction  lends  additional  poignancy 
to  the  arrow  that  pierces  the  soul.  All  is  dark  without, 
and  no  ray  of  light  arises  from  within.  If  we  look  to 
the  world  it  presents  the  aspect  of  a  stormy  sea  that 
threatens  to  overwhelm  us ;  if  we  look  to  our  own  souls, 
the  tempest  equally  rages  there ;  if  we  look  to  God,  His 
throne  is  pavilioned  with  clouds  and  His  face  is 
shadowed  with  frowns.  We  hear  nothing  but  the  roar 
of  the  tempest  and  the  angry  voice  of  the  Judge.  It  is 
the  province  of  the  gospel,  and  of  it  alone,  to  furnish 
us  rest  in  the  midst  of  these  trials.  The  vicarious  work 
of  Christ  changes  the  very  character  of  our  afflictions. 
Believing  in  Him  and  justified  by  His  righteousness. 


344  Sermons 

we  are  freed  from  the  condemning  sentence  of  the  law. 
"There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  in 
Christ  Jesus."'  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  believer 
undergoes  suffering  from  the  afflictions  which  are 
common  to  men,  or  even  from  trials  which  necessarily 
result  from  His  profession  of  the  gospel.  It  may  be 
admitted  that  it  is  a  law  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth 
that  His  people  shall  have  tribulation  and  that  they 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  per- 
secution. But  it  is  equally  true  that  all  the  afflictions 
which  the  believer  is  called  upon  to  encounter  are 
stripped  of  their  penal  complexion,  and  constitute  a 
salutary  discipline  which  is  intended  to  benefit  and  not 
to  destroy.  He  is  entitled  to  regard  them  not  as  the 
retributive  measures  of  a  Judge,  but  the  kindly  correc- 
tions of  a  Father.  So  far  from  being  a  penalty,  they 
are  the  tokens  of  paternal  love.  This  consideration 
cannot  but  deprive  our  earthly  trials  of  their  chief 
power  to  inflict  anguish.  It  reconciles  us  to  a  discip- 
line which  checks  our  waywardness,  refines  our  graces 
and  ripens  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  It 
calms  the  perturbations  of  our  spirits  and  gives  us  a 
measure  of  rest  in  the  midst  of  our  anxieties,  perplexi- 
ties, and  griefs.  Convinced  that  God  is  reconciled  to 
us  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  that  like  as  a  father 
pitieth  his  children,  so  He  pities  us;  assured  that 
Christ,  by  His  sufferings  and  death,  has  forever  re- 
moved from  us  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  transmuted 
our  afflictions  into  blessings;  cheered  by  the  precious 
testimony  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  concurring  with  that 
of  our  own  spirits  that  we  are  the  children  of  God 
and  heirs  of  all  the  priceless  and  everlasting  treasures 
of  His  kingdom,  we  possess  a  peace  which  passes  all 
understanding  and  imparts  a  serene  rest  to  our  souls 


Girardeau  345 

while  struggling  with  trials  and  tossed  by  grief.  In 
this  point  of  view,  the  paradoxes  of  the  apostle  become 
experimental  verities:  "We  are  troubled  on  every 
side,  yet  not  distressed;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in 
despair;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken;  cast  down,  but 
not  destroyed." 

These  consolatory  considerations  are  enhanced,  too, 
by  the  rejflection  that  the  administration  of  divine 
providence  is  committed  into  the  hands  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  hands  that  for  us  were  once  nailed  to  the  ac- 
cursed tree,  but  now  for  us  hold  the  reins  of  universal 
empire.  He  who  sits  upon  the  throne  of  providence, 
controlling  its  energies,  arranging  its  measures,  and 
meting  out  its  dispensations,  is  He  who,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  His  church,  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren.  It  is  He  who  assumed  our  nature  and  was 
made  in  all  things  like  unto  His  brethren,  that  He 
might  be  merciful  and  faithful  to  them.  To  Him  all 
power  is  intrusted.  All  the  elements  of  nature,  all 
the  forces  of  providence,  all  the  powers  of  heaven, 
earth,  and  hell  are  at  His  supreme  and  absolute  dis- 
posal. He  speaks,  and  cherubim  and  seraphim  hasten 
to  obey;  He  thunders,  and  the  nations  of  the  earth 
tremble  at  the  sound;  He  utters  His  majestic  voice,  and 
devils  cry  out  in  anticipation  of  their  doom.  His  will 
is  omnipotence.  His  realm  the  universe,  and  His  sceptre 
the  symbol  of  illimitable  and  resistless  sway.  When 
He  bows  the  heavens  and  comes  down  to  vindicate 
His  people,  the  whole  earth  is  exhorted  to  make  a  joy- 
ful noise ;  the  sea  to  roar  with  the  fulness  thereof ;  the 
floods  to  clap  their  hands;  the  hills  to  rejoice;  and 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  to  shout  before  Him. 
Zion  hears  the  thundering  acclaim  and  is  glad,  and  all 


346  Sermons 

the  daughters  of  Judah  rejoice  because  of  His  judg- 
ments. My  brethren,  if  there  be  any  thought  which  is 
suited  to  allay  our  fears  and  to  give  us  rest  amidst  our 
earthly  trials,  and  the  fluctuations  of  our  earthly  lot, 
it  is  that  Jesus  reigns;  that  the  infinite  resources  of 
providence  are  lodged  in  a  brother's  hands,  and  that 
all  its  measures  in  relation  to  His  people  are  the  sug- 
gestions of  a  brother's  heart.  He  allots  our  afflictions 
and  appoints  our  changes,  and  we  may  safely  rest  in 
the  conviction  that,  as  He  is  a  Savior  and  not  a  De- 
stroyer, He  makes  His  Providence  a  minister  to  our 
good.  Under  His  administration  nature  becomes 
grace,  and  the  scheme  of  providence  is  merged  into  the 
scheme  of  redemption.  His  infinite  power  obeys  the 
promptings  of  His  infinite  love.  To  know  the  wants  of 
His  people  is  to  supply  them;  to  laiow  their  distresses 
is  to  relieve  them;  to  know  their  dangers  is  to  defeat 
them.  His  all-seeing  and  compassionate  eye  watches 
us  toiling,  rowing  amidst  night  and  storm,  and  He 
comes  to  us  walking  upon  the  sea.  It  is  enough  that 
He  is  present.  His  voice  sets  our  fears  at  rest,  and 
sinks  the  heaving  billows  of  our  afflictions  into  pro- 
found and  settled  calm.  This,  then,  is  our  relief.  We 
rest  in  providence,  for  providence  is  Christ's  and  Christ 
is  ours. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  inappropriately  be 
added  that  in  the  rest  which  Jesus  bestows  we  expe- 
rience deliverance  from  the  perplexing  doubts  which 
the  mysterious  dispensations  of  providence  not  unfre- 
quenth^  excite. 

There  are  problems  arising  from  the  dealings  of 
providence  with  the  race  which  it  is  not  intended  that 
we  should  solve  in  this  world  and  under  the  present 
limitation  of  our  faculties.     But  even  in  these  cases  it 


Girardeau  347 

is  the  tendency  of  faith  in  Christ  to  lead  us,  when  we 
cannot  understand,  to  submit  and  adore.  There  are 
other  difficulties  connected  with  providential  dispensa- 
tions that  are  only  insoluble,  or,  at  least,  productive  of 
unhappiness  to  the  unbeliever.  They  are  resolved  by 
a  faith  which  contemplates  the  conduct  of  providence 
as  committed  to  the  wisdom  and  the  mercy  of  one  who 
is  at  once  a  Ruler  and  a  Savior,  a  Sovereign  and  a 
Friend.  What  is  darkness  to  others  is  light  to  the  be- 
liever. Christ  is  the  interpreter  as  well  as  the  admin- 
istrator of  providence,  and  faith  in  Him  not  seldom 
places  us  in  possession  of  an  exposition  which  He  is 
pleased  to  furnish,  and  which  puts  an  end  to  doubt. 
Especially  does  our  personal  interest  in  the  protecting 
care  of  providence  become  clear  and  undoubted  when 
we  repose  implicit  faith  in  Jesus.  He  who  did  not 
think  it  beneath  Him  to  die  for  us,  will  not  think  it 
beneath  Him  to  provide  for  us.  He  has  assured  us  that 
He  cares  for  the  sparrow,  and  that  we  are  of  more 
value  than  many  sparrows.  Poor  and  insignificant  we 
may  be,  but  He  has  spread  His  garment  over  us  and 
acknowledged  us  as  His  kinsmen.  Included  with  Him 
in  the  relations  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  we  dwell 
in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  and  abide  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty:  we  cover  ourselves  with 
His  feathers  and  under  His  wings  we  trust.  Amid 
privation  and  want,  amid  afflictions  and  distresses,  amid 
pestilence  and  death,  we  rest  in  that  vigilant  and  al- 
mighty providence  whose  care  for  us  was  purchased 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  whose  unwasting  resources 
are  pledged  to  our  relief. 

V.  In  the  remarks  which  have  been  made,  the  posi- 
tion is  taken  that  we  are  privileged  in  this  life  to  enjoy 


350  Sermons 

strike  his  ear  and  disturb  his  soul  no  more.  The  revo- 
lutionary changes  which  hurl  thrones  and  dynasties 
into  the  dust  shall  have  no  influence  on  that  immova- 
ble kingdom  which,  founded  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and 
conserved  by  the  power  of  the  everlasting  covenant, 
shall  survive  the  shaking  of  the  heavens  and  the  con- 
flagration of  the  earth.  The  night  of  doubt,  perplexity, 
and  unrest  shall  give  way  to  the  morning  light  of  an 
unclouded  and  eternal  day.  The  mysteries  of  provi- 
dence will  no  longer  tempt  to  skepticism,  and  the  per- 
fect temper  of  submissiveness  to  the  divine  will,  which 
is  the  result  of  the  believer's  earthly  discipline,  will  for- 
ever preclude  the  excursions  of  the  imagination  which 
might  tend  to  excite  discontent  even  with  a  heavenly 
sphere  of  activity  and  joy.  An  unbroken  sabbatism 
shall  reign  within  him,  and  a  perpetual  Sabbath  shall 
lie  before  him  in  which  to  employ  the  habitudes  of  his 
glorified  spirit  in  the  ministrations  of  the  celestial 
sanctuary.  He  shall  come  home  to  Jesus,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  His  people,  and  rest  with  Him  forever.  And 
sitting  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  with 
patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles,  with  the  confessors, 
martyrs,  and  ministers  of  Jesus,  with  sainted  kindred, 
brethren  and  friends,  he  shall  rest  in  a  communion 
which  will  realize  the  idea  of  a  perfect  society,  and 
prove  an  everlasting  banquet  of  the  soul. 


Girardeau  351 


UNBELIEF  IN  CHRIST  THE  GREAT- 
EST OF  SINS 

John  xvi  :9  "6^/  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Ife." 
In  the  affecting  valedictory  discourse  which  the 
Savior  delivered  to  His  disciples,  immediately  before 
His  last  passion,  He  assures  them  that  it  was  expe- 
dient that  He  should  leave  them.  The  reason  which 
He  assigned  was  that  if  He  did  not  go  away  the  Com- 
forter would  not  come  to  them,  but  if  He  departed  He 
would  send  Him  unto  them.  In  the  wonderful  economy 
of  redemption,  the  Scriptures  inform  us  that  each  per- 
son in  the  Godhead  discharges  a  peculiar  function.  As 
it  was  the  office  of  the  Father  to  conceive  the  plan  of 
salvation,  and  to  commission  the  Son  to  fulfil  it  by 
His  atoning  sufferings  on  earth  and  His  intercessions 
in  heaven,  so  it  is  the  province  of  the  Spirit  to  apply 
the  benefits  which  Christ  purchased  for  His  people  by 
His  blood.  But  in  order  that  that  blessed  Agent  should 
come  upon  this  gracious  and  salutary  mission,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  Savior,  after  having  offered  Him- 
self as  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  should,  as  the  High  Priest 
of  His  elect  people,  ascend  into  the  heavens,  and  by 
presenting  the  memorials  of  His  death,  and  pressing 
His  sacerdotal  pleas,  should  actually  obtain  the  saving 
offices  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  securing  them  He  im- 
parts, from  His  mediatorial  throne,  the  spirit  of  all 
grace  to  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment.    The  text  gives  us  the  statement  of  Christ 

Note.- — This  sermon  was  first  preached  in  Charleston  in  1865.     Dr. 
Girardeau  constantly  used  its  main  thoughts  in  his  preaching. 


350  Sermons 

strike  his  ear  and  disturb  his  soul  no  more.  The  revo- 
lutionary changes  which  hurl  thrones  and  dynasties 
into  the  dust  shall  have  no  influence  on  that  immova- 
ble kingdom  which,  founded  in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and 
conserved  by  the  power  of  the  everlasting  covenant, 
shall  survive  the  shaking  of  the  heavens  and  the  con- 
flagration of  the  earth.  The  night  of  doubt,  perplexity, 
and  unrest  shall  give  way  to  the  morning  light  of  an 
unclouded  and  eternal  day.  The  mysteries  of  provi- 
dence will  no  longer  tempt  to  skepticism,  and  the  per- 
fect temper  of  submissiveness  to  the  divine  will,  which 
is  the  result  of  the  believer's  earthly  discipline,  will  for- 
ever preclude  the  excursions  of  the  imagination  which 
might  tend  to  excite  discontent  even  with  a  heavenly 
sphere  of  activity  and  joy.  An  unbroken  sabbatism 
shall  reign  within  him,  and  a  perpetual  Sabbath  shall 
lie  before  him  in  which  to  employ  the  habitudes  of  his 
glorified  spirit  in  the  ministrations  of  the  celestial 
sanctuary.  He  shall  come  home  to  Jesus,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  His  people,  and  rest  with  Him  forever.  And 
sitting  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  with 
patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles,  with  the  confessors, 
martyrs,  and  ministers  of  Jesus,  with  sainted  kindred, 
brethren  and  friends,  he  shall  rest  in  a  communion 
which  will  realize  the  idea  of  a  perfect  society,  and 
prove  an  everlasting  banquet  of  the  soul. 


Girardeau  351 


UNBELIEF  IN  CHRIST  THE  GREAT- 
EST OF  SINS 

John  xvi  :9  "6>/  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me^ 
In  the  affecting  valedictory  discourse  which  the 
Savior  delivered  to  His  disciples,  immediately  before 
His  last  passion,  He  assures  them  that  it  was  expe- 
dient that  He  should  leave  them.  The  reason  which 
He  assigned  was  that  if  He  did  not  go  away  the  Com- 
forter would  not  come  to  them,  but  if  He  departed  He 
would  send  Him  unto  them.  In  the  wonderful  economy 
of  redemption,  the  Scriptures  inform  us  that  each  per- 
son in  the  Godhead  discharges  a  peculiar  function.  As 
it  was  the  office  of  the  Father  to  conceive  the  plan  of 
salvation,  and  to  commission  the  Son  to  fulfil  it  by 
His  atoning  sufferings  on  earth  and  His  intercessions 
in  heaven,  so  it  is  the  province  of  the  Spirit  to  apply 
the  benefits  which  Christ  purchased  for  His  people  by 
His  blood.  But  in  order  that  that  blessed  Agent  should 
come  upon  this  gracious  and  salutary  mission,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  Savior,  after  having  offered  Him- 
self as  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  should,  as  the  High  Priest 
of  His  elect  people,  ascend  into  the  heavens,  and  by 
presenting  the  memorials  of  His  death,  and  pressing 
His  sacerdotal  pleas,  should  actually  obtain  the  saving 
offices  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  securing  them  He  im- 
parts, from  His  mediatorial  throne,  the  spirit  of  all 
grace  to  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment.    The  text  gives  us  the  statement  of  Christ 

Note. — This  sermon  was  first  preached  in  Charleston  in  1865.     Dr. 
Girardeau  constantly  used  its  main  thoughts  in  his  preaching. 


352  Sermons 

as  to  the  mode  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  would  con- 
vince men  of  sin.  "He  will  reprove,"  or  convince,  "the 
world  of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me."  It  is 
obvious  that  our  Savior  regarded  unbelief  in  Himself 
as  the  greatest,  the  most  comprehensive  of  all  sins. 
According  to  this  statement,  unbelief  in  Christ  is  an 
epitome,  a  recapitulation  of  all  conceivable  forms  of 
sin.  In  convincing  the  world  of  unbelief  in  Him,  the 
Holy  Spirit  would  convince  them  of  all  sin.  As  in  the 
gospel,  faith,  in  consequence  of  its  relation  to  Christ, 
is  treated  as  the  occasion  of  all  the  other  Christian  vir- 
tues, so  unbelief,  from  its  opposition  to  Him,  is  con- 
sidered as  the  occasion  of  all  the  other  sins.  And  as 
faith  in  Christ  is  enjoined  as  the  first  great  duty  to 
be  discharged  by  the  sinner,  unbelief  in  Him  is  pro- 
nounced to  be  the  capital  sin  to  which  his  attention  is 
to  be  first  directed,  and  which  is  chiefly  to  be  repented 
of  and  forsaken. 

Unbelief  is  a  condition  of  the  heart  which  renders 
the  sinner  unwilling  to  receive  Christ  as  a  Savior,  and 
is  indicated  in  the  specific  acts  of  the  will  by  which,  in 
that  capacity.  He  is  rejected.  The  judgment  of  unbe- 
lievers as  to  the  criminality  of  this  sin  is  different  from 
that  which  the  Savior  enounces  in  the  text.  In  the 
attempts  which  they  sometimes  make  at  repentance  or 
reformation,  so  far  from  being  regarded  as  thp  most 
monstrous  of  all  sins,  it  is  apt  to  be  considered  as  less 
aggravated  than  their  other  offences.  These  efforts 
must  end  in  vanity.  They  begin  in  error,  and  must 
terminate  in  failure.  It  will  be  my  purpose  to  show 
that  unbelief  is  the  greatest  of  all  sins,  and  in  doing 
so  to  induce  you,  my  friends,  to  seek  that  grace  by 
which  you  may  be  convinced  of  its  enormity  and  to 


Girardeau  353 

embrace  Jesus  Christ  as  He  is  freely  offered  to  you  in 
the  gospel. 

I.  Unbelief  in  Christ,  it  may  be  remarked  in  the 
first  place,  is  the  greatest  of  sins,  because  it  compre- 
hends all  other  sins  in  itself,  and  is  a  deliberate  ap- 
proval and  justification  of  them.  This  is  evident  from 
the  consideration  that  the  scheme  of  redemption 
through  Christ  furnishes  the  means,  and  the  only 
means,  by  which  the  guilt  of  sin  may  be  pardoned  and 
its  power  destroyed;  and  unbelief  in  the  Savior  is  a 
wilful  rejection  of  these  means.  The  very  purpose  for 
which  the  plan  of  salvation  was  instituted,  and  the 
mission  of  the  Son  of  God  was  undertaken,  was  that 
the  works  of  the  Devil  might  be  destroyed  and  the 
dominion  of  sin  be  broken.  Previously  to  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Redeemer,  the  announcement  was  illade, 
through  an  angelic  ministry,  that  He  should  be  called 
Jesus,  for  He  should  save  His  people  from  their  sins. 
The  whole  scheme  of  redemption  contemplates  the  de- 
liverance of  sinners  from  the  condemning  sentence  of 
the  violated  law,  the  destruction  of  the  influence  of  sin 
within  them,  and  their  restoration  to  the  image  of 
God,  which  consists  in  knowledge,  righteousness  and 
true  holiness.  Of  this  scheme,  and  of  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  wise,  beneficent  and  merciful  ends  which 
it  proposes,  unbelief  in  Christ  is  the  open  and  defiant 
resistance.  So  far  as  it  goes,  it  would  destroy  the  plan 
and  defeat  its  ends.  It  is  as  if  the  unbeliever  should 
say :  I  am  aware  that  the  gospel  affords  the  means  by 
which  I  may  repair  the  injury  done  the  divine  name 
and  government,  secure  the  pardon  of  my  guilt,  and 
render  acceptable  service  to  God,  but  I  am  unwilling 
to  subserve  these  purposes,  and  prefer  to  continue  in 
that  condition  in  which,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  they 


354  Sermons 

will  certainly  fail  of  attainment.     Let  us  look  at  the 
enormous  turpitude  of  such  a  position. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  show  that  unbelief  in  Christ 
includes  and  ratifies  the  guilt  of  original  sin.  The  sin 
by  which  man  at  first  rebelled  against  God,  broke  his 
covenant  with  Him,  trampled  under  foot  His  law,  and 
spurned  the  rich  and  innumerable  tokens  of  His  love 
will  be  admitted  to  have  been  one  characterized  by  the 
most  flagrant  criminality.  Endowed  with  all  the  fur- 
niture and  adornments  of  a  holy  nature,  in  sympathy 
by  the  very  conditions  of  his  being  with  the  perfections 
and  government  of  His  divine  Maker,  possessed  of  a 
strength,  graciously  imparted,  amply  sufficient  to  en- 
able him  to  keep  the  divine  commands,  eminently 
favored  in  having  the  field  of  temptation  and  the  term 
of  his  trial  limited  by  the  arrangements  of  the  coven- 
ant, and  living  in  a  state  of  happiness  in  which  nothing 
of  enjoyment  was  left  him  to  desire,  under  a  rule  which 
was  not  only  righteous  and  equitable,  but  kindly  and 
parental,  what  shadow  of  excuse  can  be  furnished  for 
the  gigantic  crime  of  his  rebellion  ?  In  the  face  of  the 
most  extraordinary  advantages  accruing  from  a  course 
of  obedience,  of  the  most  urgent  reasons  for  refusing 
to  disobey,  and  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  en- 
gagements by  which  a  voluntary  agent  could  be  bound, 
at  the  very  first  proposal  of  the  tempter,  he  discredited 
the  divine  testimony,  snapped  the  bonds  of  his  own 
plighted  faith,  flouted  the  amazing  goodness  of  God, 
contemned  the  law  before  which  angels  bow,  and  with 
a  haste,  a  hardihood  and  an  audacity  almost  incon- 
ceivable under  the  circumstances,  rushed  into  the  crime 
of  foul  and  undisguised  revolt  against  his  Maker,  his 
Benefactor,  and  his  Friend.  By  the  terms  of  the  cov- 
enant, which  Adam  thus  inexcusably  broke,  he  stood 


Girardeau  355 

under  its  provisions  as  the  iiead  and  representative  of 
the  race  which  was  destined  to  spring  from  his  loins. 
Had  he  refrained  from  sinning  during  the  limited 
period  of  probation  graciously  assigned  him,  his  obe- 
dience, through  the  channel  of  federal  representation, 
would  have  been  derived  to  his  posterity,  and  they,  in 
consequence  of  the  imputation  to  them  of  that  obedi- 
ence, would  have  been  justified,  that  is  to  say,  they 
would  have  been  established  in  holiness  and  happiness 
and  everlastingly  secured  against  the  contingency  of  a 
fall.  But  by  the  terms  of  the  same  covenant,  as  he 
sinned,  the  guilt  of  his  first  transgression  is,  through 
the  channel  of  federal  representation,  derived  to  them, 
and,  in  consequence  of  its  imputation  to  them,  they  are 
justly  regarded  as  implicated  in  his  sin  and  exposed  to 
the  penalty  which  its  commission  entailed.  We,  then, 
m}''  brethren,  are  involved  in  the  guilt  of  that  stupen- 
dous crime  by  which  the  race  first  shook  off  the  govern- 
ment of  God,  and  plunged  into  a  career  of  disobedience. 
There  is  now,  however,  furnished  us  in  the  mercy  of 
God  the  means  by  which  we  may  be  relieved  from  this 
intolerable  guilt,  and  enabled  to  repair  the  injury  occa- 
sioned by  it  to  the  law  and  government  of  God.  The 
incarnate  Son  of  God,  as  the  second  Adam,  represents 
sinners  under  the  provisions  of  a  new  and  gracious 
covenant.  In  pursuance  of  its  arrangements  He  under- 
takes, as  the  representative  of  the  guilty,  to  render  a 
perfect  obedience  to  the  law  which  they  violated,  and 
in  His  expiatory  sufferings  and  death,  to  assume  and 
exhaust  the  curse  which  it  inflicts.  This  He  did,  and 
as  He  was  a  being  of  infinite  dignity,  his  vicarious 
obedience  magnifies  the  law  and  affords  a  satisfactory 
reparation  to  the  claims  of  the  outraged  government 


356  Sermons 

of  God.  Through  the  channel  of  the  federal  represen- 
tation the  obedience  of  Christ  is  derived  to  all  who 
believe  in  Him,  that  is,  to  all  who  accept  Him  as  a 
Savior  and  cordially  and  penitently  rely  upon  Him. 
His  perfect  righteousness  is  imputed  to  the  believing 
sinner,  and  characterizes  him  in  all  his  personal  rela- 
tions to  God.  It  is  obvious,  consequently,  that  He  who 
believes  in  Christ  is  discharged  from  the  guilt  of  origi- 
nal sin,  and  through  his  great  representative,  offers  to 
the  nature,  the  law,  and  the  government  of  God  the 
satisfaction  which  they  imperatively  require.  The 
obedience  of  Christ  neutralizes  the  guilt  of  Adam.  As 
our  birth  into  this  world  places  us  under  subjection  of 
Adam's  guilt,  faith  puts  us  in  possession  of  Christ's 
righteousness.  Here,  then,  we  have  furnished  us  in 
the  gospel  the  means,  the  only  means,  by  which  we  can 
avert  the  consequences  of  our  implication  in  the  guilt 
of  original  sin,  and  undo  the  damage  which  through  it 
we  have  done.  Faith  renders  this  means  available  to 
us.  It  is  mercifully  offered  to  the  acceptance  of  our 
faith.  He,  therefore,  who  refuses  to  believe  in  Christ, 
deliberately  declines  the  use  of  this  means,  and  form- 
ally ratifies  upon  his  soul  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin. 
Dreadful  as  it  is,  he  accepts  it  as  his  own.  For  he  who 
may  be  delivered  from  guilt,  however  derived,  and 
refuses  to  do  so,  binds,  by  his  own  act,  that  guilt  upon 
himself. 

The  unbeliever  in  Christ,  it  may  be  remarked  in 
the  next  place,  refuses  to  accept  the  removal  of  his 
guilt  as  a  condition  of  rendering  acceptable  service  to 
God,  and,  therefore,  approves  and  sanctions  a  disability 
which  keeps  him  in  the  uninterrupted  commission  of 
sin.  By  the  term  guilt  is  to  be  understood  subjection 
to  the  penalty  of  the  broken  law,  and  exposure  to  the 


Girardeau  357 

consequences  which  it  imposes.  Now,  it  is  plainly  im- 
possible that  a  guilty  person  can  render  an  obedience 
which  shall  be  acceptable  to  God.  All  his  efforts  at 
holiness  of  life  must  be  abortive.  It  is  a  contradiction 
to  suppose  that  one  can  suffer  the  curse  of  God's  law 
and  at  the  same  time  sustain  relations  or  produce  an 
obedience  which  He  will  approve.  Communion  with 
God  is  the  spiritual  life  of  the  soul.  "His  favor  is 
life."  And  as  guilt  supposes  the  destruction  of  inter- 
course with  God,  it  is  a  proof  that  spiritual  life  no 
longer  exists.  It  will  require  no  discussion  to  show 
that  where  there  is  no  spiritual  life  there  can  be  no 
spiritual  acts.  The  apostle  tells  us  that  conscience  in 
its  natural  and  guilty  condition  is  able  only  to  produce 
dead  works — works  which,  though  they  may  be  mate- 
rially good,  spring  from  no  principle  of  spiritual  life, 
are  performed  by  persons  spiritually  dead  and  wrought 
with  no  spiritual  end  in  view.  They  are  dead  as  to  the 
source  in  which  they  originate,  dead  as  to  the  agent 
who  discharges  them,  and  dead  as  to  the  end  which 
they  contemplate.  The  sinner,  therefore,  in  his  natu- 
ral, unbelieving  state,  lies  under  the  sentence  of  the 
law  which  makes  it  simply  impossible  that  either  his 
person  or  his  works  should  be  accepted.  He  cannot  be 
condemned  and  accepted  at  one  and  the  same  time. 
And  his  conscience,  though  through  fear  it  may  be 
religiously  stimulated,  only  goads  him  to  the  perform- 
ance of  duties  which  are  intrinsically  worthless. 

This  view  of  the  sinner's  disability  is  enhanced,  too, 
by  the  consideration  plainly  presented  in  the  Scrip- 
tures that  a  filial  spirit  is  absolutely  necessary  to  ac- 
ceptable obedience.  The  temper  of  a  condemned  crim- 
inal and  that  of  an  affectionate  child  cannot  coincide 
in  the  same  heart.    It  is  only  they  who  are  led  by  the 


358  Sermons 

Spirit  of  God  that  are  the  sons  of  God,  and  "if  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none  of  His." 
Let  it  be  observed  that  it  is  the  office  of  faith,  and  of 
faith  alone,  to  remove  this  disability,  which  disquali- 
fies the  sinner  from  entering  at  all  upon  the  acceptable 
service  of  God.  The  believer  in  Christ  is  discharged 
from  the  sentence  of  the  law,  which  cripples  his  soul 
and  holds  him  in  bondage.  His  guilt  is  washed  away 
in  the  blood  of  Jesus  applied  to  him  through  faith. 
The  blood  of  Christ  purges  his  conscience  from  dead 
works  to  serve  the  living  God.  And  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  applying  that  blood,  generates  in  him  the  filial 
temper  which  prompts  him  to  the  performance  of  duty 
not  as  a  criminal  or  a  slave,  but  as  an  adopted  and 
beloved  child.  Now,  as  unbelief  refuses  to  accept  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  and  the  grace  of  the  spirit  which 
was  acquired  by  His  blood,  it  deliberately  rejects  the 
only  means  by  which  the  sinner  can  become  reconciled 
to  God  and  be  relieved  from  the  disability  to  serve 
Him  entailed  by  the  penalty  of  the  law.  The  unbe- 
liever voluntarily  imprisons  himself  in  a  condition  in 
which  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  render  to  God  a  free 
and  acceptable  obedience.  He  rejects  the  means  of  de- 
liverance, prefers  to  be  incapacitated  to  serve  God,  and 
chooses  to  continue  in  the  undisturbed  commission  of 
his  sins. 

The  same  line  of  argument  tends  to  show  the 
heinousness  of  the  sin  of  unbelief  in  Christ  as  it  implies 
an  endorsement  of  all  the  actual  transgressions  of 
which  the  sinner  may  be  guilty.  If  God  has  provided 
the  means  by  which  we  may  resist  and  overcome  our 
sins,  then  surely  a  rejection  of  those  means  involves  a 
justification  of  our  iniquities.  These  means  have  been 
furnished  and  unbelief  rejects  them.     It  is  faith  in 


Girardeau  359 

the  blood  of  Christ  and  in  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  which 
enables  us  to  obtain  the  victory  over  our  sins.  The 
saints  who  have  already  reached  the  heavenly  world, 
we  are  taught,  overcame  Satan  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  and  the  word  of  their  testimony.  Unbelief  dis- 
cards the  blood  of  Christ,  the  only  effectual  weapon 
with  which  we  are  able  to  foil  the  attempts  and  resist 
the  assaults  of  the  adversary  of  souls.  Faith  is  the 
victory  that  overcometh  the  world.  Unbelief  suc- 
cumbs to  the  world  and  leaves  the  soul  the  sport  of  its 
blandishments  or  the  prey  of  its  terrors.  Faith  re- 
ceives the  grace  which  is  sufficient  for  us  in  every  con- 
flict with  temptation^the  divine  and  efficacious  princi- 
ple which  alone  energizes  the  soul  for  the  discharge  of 
duty  and  the  resistance  of  sin.  Unbelief  refuses  to  sue 
for  this  grace,  and  abandons  the  sinner  to  his  native 
impotence  and  an  unrestrained  love  of  transgression. 
It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  every  sin  of  which  one 
may  be  guilty  is  endorsed  and  justified  by  unbelief. 
There  is  not  a  transgression  which  the  sinner  may 
have  committed  against  the  first  or  second  table  of  the 
divine  law  which  it  does  not  practically  sanction.  It 
includes  them  all,  and  is  chargeable  with  them  all. 
The  unbeliever  might,  by  faith,  repent  of  his  past  sins 
and  successfully  oppose  those  which  might  tempt  him 
in  the  future,  and  he  refuses  to  believe.  He,  therefore, 
tolerates  and  approves  his  sins.  God  abhors  them, 
condemns  them,  and  thunders  against  them  the  terrible 
sentence  of  His  law.  The  unbeliever,  in  the  face  of 
this  divine  reprobation  and  in  contempt  of  God's  holi- 
ness and  majesty,  lays  his  hand  upon  them  and  coolly 
and  deliberately  endorses  them.  He  puts  bitter  for 
sweet  and  sweet  for  bitter,  and  woe  to  those  who  do ! 


860  Sermons 

To  this  it  must  be  added  that  unbelief  in  Christ  not 
only  involves  an  endorsement  of  crimes  which  have 
been  actually  committed,  but  of  all  the  tendencies 
which  are  inherent  in  sin,  and  all  the  developments 
of  which  it  is  capable.  The  state  of  spiritual  death  is 
one  in  which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  is  possible 
that  the  sinner  should  be  guilty  of  any  specific  form  of 
iniquity.  His  original  righteousness  is  lost,  and  from 
the  supposition  the  renewing  grace  of  God's  Spirit  is 
not  present.  Essentially  active  as  a  moral  agent,  he 
must  go  on  in  the  perpetration  of  transgression.  Every 
sin,  too,  includes  in  itself  the  seeds  of  every  other  sin. 
No  sin  stands  alone.  It  is  generative  and  reproductive. 
A  single  breach  of  the  divine  law  opens  a  gap  through 
which  an  irruption  may  be  made,  and  if  not  arrested, 
will  inevitably  be  made  upon  every  requirement  which 
it  contains.  Although  the  remark  of  the  Eoman 
satirist  may  be  conceded  to  be  true,  that  "no  man  be- 
comes thoroughly  depraved  all  at  once,"  and  it  may 
even  be  admitted  that  no  one  in  the  present  life  has 
fully  developed  the  sinful  principle  within  him,  it  is 
still  not  to  be  denied  that  there  is  in  sin  a  fatal  ten- 
dency to  a  steady  and  indefinite  progression.  In  the 
world  of  lost  spirits,  where  the  restraints  of  society, 
themselves  superinduced  by  the  moulding  influences 
of  the  gospel,  the  checks  derived  from  the  operation  of 
one  sinful  motive  or  passion  in  antagonism  to  another, 
and  the  common  influences  of  grace  are  all  withdrawn, 
the  sinner  will  rush  forward  in  the  development  of  sin 
with  an  advancement  commensurate  with  the  sweep  of 
endless  ages  and  a  celerity  only  measured  by  the 
limitless  capacities  of  the  soul.  To  believe  in  Christ 
is  to  stoj)  this  tendency  and  turn  it  backwards.  Faith 
receives  the  means,  divinely  provided,  by  which  this 


Girardeau  361, 

fearful  progress  is  arrested,  and  the  soul  is  projected 
in  an  opposite  direction — the  eternal  development  of 
holiness.  Unbelief  in  Christ  involves  the  rejection  of 
these  means,  and  as  it  leaves  the  soul  to  the  unimpeded 
growth  of  the  principle  of  sin,  furnishes  a  justification 
of  all  the  terrible  extremes  to  which  that  principle  nat- 
urally and  legitimately  tends. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  it  deserves  to  be  considered 
that  unbelief  in  Christ,  regarded  intrinsically  and  as  to 
its  own  nature,  is  the  most  heinous  and  flagrant  of  all 
sins.  It  virtually  comprehends  in  itself,  as  has  been 
shown,  all  other  sins,  and  it  adds  to  the  fearful  cata- 
logue a  special  turpitude  of  its  own  which  exceeds  that 
of  all  others  combined.  Let  us  briefly  examine  it  in 
this  point  of  view : 

It  is  a  wilful  rejection  of  God's  testimony  and  a 
deliberate  falsification  of  God's  word.  The  gospel  is 
the  divine  testimony  touching  our  condition  of  sin  and 
ruin,  and  the  means  by  which  we  may  be  deiiverea 
from  it.  In  it  God  the  Father  solemnly  testifies  to  us, 
by  His  own  existence  and  by  the  awful  sanctity  of  His 
majestic  name,  that  as  transgressors  of  His  law  we  are 
doomed  to  perish,  but  that  He  has  mercifully  provided 
redemption  for  us  through  the  mediation  of  His  be- 
loved Son.  He  testifies  to  us  that,  notwithstanding 
our  inexcusable  guilt.  He  "so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  Plim  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
He  testifies  to  us  that  "he  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life  and  shall  not  come  into  condem- 
nation, but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  hath  not  life, 
but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."  "This  is  the 
record  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this 


362  Sermons 

life  is  in  His  Son."  "WTien  He  introduced  His  incar- 
nate Son  into  the  world,  He  sent  a  deputation  of  an- 
gels, with  anthems  grander  than  the  music  of  the 
spheres,  to  make  the  joyful  announcement.  At  the 
public  inauguration  of  the  Savior  into  His  earthly  min- 
istry He  proclaimed  in  an  audible  testimony:  "This 
is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  He 
repeated  this  testimony  on  the  occasion  of  the  trans- 
figuration when  the  great  Mediator,  having  conversed 
in  reference  to  His  approaching  death  with  a  delega- 
tion from  heaven  representing  the  law  and  the  prophets 
of  the  old  dispensation,  arrayed  Himself  in  robes  of 
light  and  anticipated  in  the  astonished  view  of  His 
disciples  the  glory  of  His  exaltation.  And  in  raising 
Him  from  the  dead  the  Father  published  to  the  uni- 
verse an  endorsement  of  His  righteousness  and  a  testi- 
mony to  the  acceptance  of  His  mediatorial  work.  These 
solemn  deliverances  of  God  the  Father  unbelief  in 
Christ  deliberately  rejects  and  treats  with  supreme 
contempt. 

It  discredits,  moreover,  the  testimony  of  the  Son. 
The  brightness  of  His  Father's  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person,  intimately  acquainted  by  virtue 
of  His  nature  with  the  eternal  purposes  of  the  God- 
head, and  explicitly  charged  with  the  proclamation  of 
the  scheme  of  redemption,  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  com- 
missioned revealer  of  His  Father's  will,  comes  into  the 
world  to  testify  that  will  concerning  the  salvation  of 
men.  Bearing  credentials  of  His  divine  commission, 
attested  by  the  most  stupendous  miracles.  He  testified 
that  He  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  Inviting, 
exhorting,  entreating  them  to  come  to  Him  that  they 
might  have  life.  He  continued  for  years  to  preach  His 
own  glorious  gospel,  and  finally  sealed  His  testimony 


Girardeau  363 

with  His  blood.  This  testimony  also  unbelief  treats 
with  indifference  or  rejects  with  disdain. 

It  discards  also  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
It  is  a  part  of  the  office  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  now  that 
the  Savior  has  ascended  into  heaven  and  has  ceased 
His  personal  ministry  on  earth,  to  testify  of  Him  in  the 
hearts  of  men.  He  corroborates  the  utterances  of  the 
gospel  by  His  own  direct  and  powerful  testimony  to 
the  minds  and  consciences  of  sinners.  It  is  amazing 
with  what  patience,  forbearance,  and  long  suffering 
He  follows  them,  notwithstanding  their  infatuated  per- 
sistence in  sin  with  this  secret  testimony  in  regard  to 
the  way  of  salvation  in  Christ.  One  would  be  apt  to 
suppose  that,  in  view  of  this  exceeding  graciousness 
and  tenderness  combined  with  the  awful  sanctions 
which  are  thrown  around  His  office  and  guard  it  from 
profane  and  blasphemous  treatment.  His  testimony 
would  at  least  be  regarded  with  respect.  But  unbelief 
rejects  it  and  tramples  under  foot  the  veracity  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

Unbelief  in  Christ,  therefore,  is  an  impeachment  of 
the  truthfulness  of  the  whole  Godhead.  It  discredits 
the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  a  testimony  miraculously  imparted, 
flaming  on  the  pages  of  the  sacred  word,  delivered  in 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  and  the  administration  of 
the  sacraments,  and  urged  upon  our  attention  by  the 
sweet,  the  persuasive,  the  powerful  influences  of  divine 
grace. 

It  enhances  our  sense  of  the  enormity  of  this  crime 
when  we  reflect  that  while  other  sins  are  more  imme- 
diately related  to  law,  unbelief  in  Christ  is  peculiarly 
a  sin  against  mercy,  grace,  and  love.  It  is,  of  course,  a 
transgression  of  law,  but  its  chief  aggravation  lies  in 


364  Sermons 

the  fact  that  it  is  a  contempt  of  the  gospel.  It  is  a 
deliberate  and  wanton  insult  to  every  person  of  the 
ever-blessed  Godhead,  as  each  is  manifested  to  our 
guilty  and  dying  race  under  relations  the  most  gracious 
and  aspects  the  most  beneficent  and  endearing. 

It  is  an  insult  to  God  the  Father.  Had  He  con- 
signed the  whole  race  of  sinners  to  remediless  destruc- 
tion, the  universe  of  holy  beings  would  have  unani- 
mously glorified  the  justice  of  the  sentence.  His  gov- 
ernment furnished  an  awful  precedent  for  such  a 
course.  He  inflicted  summary  punisliment  upon  the 
rebellious  angels.  When  those  sons  of  light  resigned 
their  censers  of  worship  for  the  arms  of  revolt,  and 
dashed  themselves  against  His  throne,  He  hurled 
against  them  the  flaming  bolts  of  insulted  justice, 
drove  them  in  terror  from  His  presence,  and  consigned 
them  to  hell,  there  to  expend  their  fury  in  the  eternal 
roar  of  discordant  spirits  and  the  clank  of  everlasting 
chains.  That  dismal  prison,  the  darkness  of  which  is 
only  illuminated  by  the  glare  of  penal  fires,  will  for- 
ever rear  its  gloomy  walls  as  an  awful  monument  of 
divine  justice,  an  affecting  memorial  of  the  folly  and 
danger  of  trifling  with  God's  holiness,  majesty  and  law. 
But  in  relation  to  the  equally  guilty  race  of  human 
sinners,  it  pleased  Him  to  take  counsel  of  His  love. 
Looking  upon  them  in  their  sin  and  ruin  He  was 
touched  with  ineffable  pity.  His  infinite  mercy  origi- 
nated a  wondrous  plan  of  redemption,  and  His  infinite 
wisdom  adjusted  and  perfected  its  arrangements.  He 
called  and  commissioned  His  only  begotten  Son  to  act 
as  the  substitute  of  sinners,  and  by  suffering  and  dying 
in  their  place,  to  rescue  them  from  their  merited  doom 
and  render  it  consistent  with  His  inviolable  perfections 
to  receive  them  again  to  His  favor.    Taking  from  His 


Girardeau  365 

bosom  His  well  beloved  upon  whom  He  had  from  eter- 
nity poured  out  a  love  which  only  the  infinite  heart 
that  experienced  it  could  measure,  He  sent  Him  down 
to  shame,  reproach,  and  death  that  sinners  might  be 
saved.  Yearning  with  boundless  compassion  towards 
His  incarnate  Son,  as  He  struggled  and  fainted  under 
the  burden  of  His  stupendous  work.  He  still  refused 
to  interrupt  the  progress  of  the  fearful  drama.  He 
heard  Him,  when  in  Gethsemane  He  tremblingly  took 
the  cup  of  woe  and  pleaded  that  if  possible  it  might 
pass  from  Him,  and  declined  to  withdraw  that  cup. 
He  saw  Him  when  a  prisoner  He  stood  at  the  bar  of 
formalists  and  hypocrites  amidst  a  tempest  of  false 
accusations,  and  did  not  vindicate  Him.  He  listened  to 
the  shout  of  His  countrymen  at  Pilate's  judgment-seat : 
Crucify  Him!  Crucify  Him!  and  did  not  dispatch 
legions  of  angels  to  sweep  that  mob  from  before  His 
face.  He  beheld  Him  as  bound  at  the  whipping-post 
when  he  felt  the  blows  of  the  Roman  thong,  and  did  not 
hasten  to  His  relief.  He  hearkened  to  Him  as  crowned 
with  a  diadem  of  thorns,  disfigured  with  blood  and 
spittle,  and  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree.  He  cried :  "My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?"  and  did 
not  respond  to  that  moving  appeal ;  but  as  He  had  de- 
voted Him  to  death  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  He  continued 
to  discharge  upon  Him  a  storm  of  wrath  until  His 
sacred  life  was  quenched,  and  His  amazing  work  was 
done.  Such,  my  brethren,  w^as  the  mercy  of  God  the 
Father  to  our  guilty  and  wretched  race.  It  is  enough 
to  melt  a  heart  of  adamant;  but  unbelief,  whether  it 
spring  from  indifference  or  deliberate  purpose,  despises 
this  matchless  grace,  scorns  this  unutterable  gift,  and, 
through  the  person  of  the  crucified  and  rejected  Savior, 
offers  a  wanton  insult  to  the  eternal  Father's  love. 


366  Sermons 

Unbelief  is  also  an  insult  to  God  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 
involves  a  contemptuous  rejection  of  His  gracious 
offices.  Acting  in  His  sovereign  capacity,  and  yet  com- 
missioned by  the  Father  and  the  Son,  He  mercifully 
undertakes  the  work  of  applying  to  the  hearts  of  sin- 
ners the  benefits  of  redemption  which  Jesus  purchased 
with  His  blood.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  saving 
office,  He  enlightens  their  ignorance,  convinces  them  of 
their  sin  and  danger,  discloses  to  them  their  need  of  a 
Savior,  and  with  infinite  tenderness  and  an  almost  ex- 
haustless  compassion,  though  often  resisted  and  often 
grieved,  He  affectionately  urges  upon  them  the  neces- 
sity of  fleeing  the  wrath  to  come,  and  of  betaking  them- 
selves to  Christ  as  the  only  refuge  of  their  souls.  Rep- 
resenting the  absent  Savior,  He  portrays  to  sinners  His 
loveliness  and  glory.  His  sufficiency  for  their  wants, 
and  His  perfect  willingness  to  save  them.  Taking  up 
the  gracious  invitations  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  He  repeats 
them  to  their  souls  with  a  melting  pathos  and  an  im- 
portunate urgency ;  and  seizing  them  by  the  hand,  as  it 
were.  He  sweetly  offers  to  conduct  them  to  the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  The  am- 
bassador of  the  Godhead  He  comes  to  them  with  divine 
overtures  of  reconciliation  and  presses  upon  them  their 
acceptance,  while  the  day  of  grace  and  the  opportuni- 
ties of  mercy  are  extended.  This  exalted  and  beneficent 
minister  of  grace,  invested  with  the  credentials  of  a 
divine  commission,  surrounded  by  sanctions  peculiarly 
awful  and  bearing  with  him  the  precious  blood  of 
atonement,  unbelief  contemptuously  rejects.  Disdain- 
ing His  glorious  person,  slighting  His  dreadful  sover- 
eig-nty,  scorning  His  unspeakable  love,  turning  with 
cold  indifference  from  His  pathetic  solicitations,  and 
thrusting  aside  His  outstretched  hand,  unbelief  offers 


Girardeau  367 

to  the  eternal  Spirit  of  God  an  insult  which,  if  per- 
sisted in  by  the  sinner,  were  worse  than  a  mill-stone 
hanged  about  his  neck  and  dragging  him  down  to 
fathomless  abysses. 

Finally,  the  worst  feature  of  this  monstrous  sin  is 
its  insulting  rejection  of  the  blessed  Son  of  God.  The 
Father  sent  the  Son,  and  the  Spirit  represents  Him; 
but  it  was  the  Son  Himself  who  came  to  earth  to  suf- 
fer, bleed,  and  die  for  men.  Called  of  His  Father  to 
undertake  the  mediatorial  work.  He  cheerfully  ac- 
cepted the  extraordinary  vocation,  and  in  order  to 
achieve  the  salvation  of  sinners,  stripped  Himself  of 
His  glory  and  hastened  down  into  a  valley  of  humilia- 
tion which  He  bedewed  with  His  tears,  and  moistened 
with  His  blood.  For  sinners  He  consented  to  be  born 
of  a  woman,  to  be  made  under  the  law,  and  to  assume 
its  awful  curse.  For  them  He  took  a  sorrow  which  at- 
tended Him  as  a  familiar  acquaintance  and  a  reproach 
which  broke  His  heart.  For  them  He  underwent  pov- 
erty, toil,  privation,  and  fatigue,  and  bore  a  ceaseless 
tempest  of  misrepresentation,  hate,  and  scorn.  For 
sinners  He  endured  the  temptations  of  the  wilderness, 
the  anguish  of  Gethsemane,  and  the  persecutions  of  the 
Sanhedrim.  For  them  He  encountered  the  combined 
opposition  of  king,  governor  and  priest,  the  mingled 
rage  of  Jew  and  Gentile,  the  malice  of  His  country- 
men, and  the  desertion  of  His  friends.  For  their  sakes 
He  consented  to  be  beaten,  scourged  and  spitted  on, 
and  for  them,  finally.  He  experienced  the  agony,  the 
shame,  and  the  wrath  of  the  cross.  In  that  crown  of 
thorns,  those  lacerated  limbs,  that  mangled  body,  that 
pale  yet  gory  visage,  those  streaming  wounds,  those 
deep-drawn  groans  and  trickling  tears,  is  most  af- 
fectingly  attested  His  mercy  and  compassion  for  dying 


368  Sermons 

men.  And  for  them  an  exquisite  torture,  unseen  and 
unheard  by  sense,  wrung  the  soul  of  the  expiring 
Savior  as  He  sunk  under  the  tremendous  penalty  of 
the  law,  the  weight  of  imputed  guilt,  and  the  pressure 
of  infinite  wrath.  All  this  the  merciful  Eedeemer  suf- 
fered for  sinners.  And  yet,  unbelief,  as  it  attaches  no 
importance  to  the  work  which  He  discharged,  and  the 
miseries  He  endured,  offers  a  deliberate  insult  to  the 
crucified  Son  of  God.  The  unbeliever  takes  his  stand 
with  the  multitude  who  mocked  His  d3ang  anguish  and 
sympathizes  with  them.  To  him  the  death  of  Jesus  i& 
but  the  dissolution  of  an  ordinary  man,  or  what  it 
seemed  to  the  eye  of  sense,  that  of  a  condemned  male- 
factor. To  him  it  has  no  spiritual  import.  Passing  by 
the  awful  spectacle,  and  wagging  his  head  in  indiffer- 
ence, he  profanely  tramples  under  foot  the  blood  of 
God's  eternal  Son.  And  it  deserves  to  be  seriously  pon- 
dered that  as  sin  was  the  occasion  of  the  Savior's  death, 
and  unbelief  is  an  endorsement  and  justification  of 
sin,  it  constitutes  the  unbeliever  in  Christ  a  virtual 
partaker  in  the  tremendous  crime  of  the  crucifixion; 
and  that  if  he  continue  in  unbelief  and  dies  under  its 
guilt,  he  passes  to  God's  flaming  bar  with  the  blood  of 
God's  Son  upon  his  soul.  And  if  "he  that  despised 
Moses'  law  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses, of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye, 
shall  he  be  thought  worthy  who  hath  trodden  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God  and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the 
covenant  wherewith  He  was  sanctified  an  unholy  thing, 
and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace?  .  .  . 
It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God." 


Girardeau  369 

THE  DISCRETIONARY  POWER  OF 
THE  CHURCH 

Matt.  xxviii:20.  '■''Teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things,  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 

There  are  certain  utterances  which,  though  brief,  are 
comprehensive  and  regulative.  They  enounce  princi- 
ples, or  inculcate  duties,  which  involve  all  minor  and 
dependent  ones,  and  stamp  a  moulding  influence  upon 
thought  and  action.  Such  are  those  contained  in  the 
text.  So  far  as  any  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  can  derive 
a  peculiar  interest  from  the  impressiveness  of  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  were  spoken,  these  possess 
that  quality.  They  constitute  a  part  of  what  is  usually 
termed  the  great  commission, — that  last  brief,  but  af- 
fecting and  momentous  charge  which  Jesus  delivered 
to  the  apostles  and,  through  them,  to  the  church,  while 
ten  thousand  of  His  holy  ones  waited  to  escort  Him  to 
the  gates  of  glory  and  the  mediatorial  throne.  An 
apostate  or  declining  church  may  be  insensible  to  their 
power,  but  they  burn  like  fire  in  the  consciousness  of 
one  which  is  vitalized  by  the  breath  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
They  speak  to  us  this  daj^^  with  the  same  freshness  and 
emphasis  with  which  they  fell  from  the  lips  of  a 
triumphant  Savior  upon  the  listening  ears  of  the  apos- 
tles of  His  extraordinary  call. 

Note. — This  is  not  the  most  eloquent,  but  it  is  the  most  valuable 
and  the  most  timely  sermon  in  this  volume.  It  was  preached  before 
the  General  Assembly,  at  St.  Louis,  May  20,  1875.  The  author  called 
it  a  testimony. 


370  Sermons 

There  are  two  supreme  obligations  which  this  final 
charge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  lays  uj)on  the  heart  of  the 
church.  The  first  is  the  transcendent  duty  of  univer- 
sal evangelization.  The  second  is  the  inculcation  and 
maintenance  of  the  truth  which  Christ,  the  prophet  of 
the  church,  has  taught,  and  the  commands  which 
Christ,  the  king  of  the  church,  has  enjoined.  The  call 
of  the  gospel  is  to  be  addressed  to  all  the  sons  of  men, 
and  when  they  accept  it,  and  are  gathered  into  the  fold 
of  the  church,  she  is  to  teach  them  all  things  whatso- 
ever Christ  has  commanded.  There  are  obviously  a 
positive  and  a  negative  aspect  of  this  charge  to  the 
church, — positive,  in  that  she  is  directed  to  teach  all 
that  Christ  has  commanded;  negative,  in  that  she  is 
implicitly  prohibited  from  teaching  anything  which 
He  has  not  commanded.  The  negative  duty  is  a  neces- 
sary inference  from  the  command  which  enforces  the 
positive.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  principle  tinctured 
with  the  blood  of  our  Puritan,  Covenanter  and  Hugue- 
not forefathers — that  what  is  not  commanded,  either 
explicitly  or  implicitly  in  the  Scriptures,  is  prohibited 
to  the  church.  She  can  utter  no  new  doctrine,  make  no 
new  laws,  ordain  no  new  forms  of  government,  and 
invent  no  new  modes  of  worship.  This  is  but  a  state- 
ment of  a  fundamental  principle  of  Protestantism,  con- 
tra-distinguishing it  from  Rationalism  on  the  one  hand 
and  Romanism  on  the  other, — that  the  Scriptures,  as 
the  word  of  Christ,  are  the  complete  and  ultimate  rule 
of  faith  and  duty.  They  are  complete,  since  they  fur- 
nish as  perfect  a  provision  for  the  spiritual,  as  does 
nature  for  the  physical,  wants  of  man,  and,  therefore, 
exclude  every  other  rule  as  unnecessary  and  superflu- 
ous. They  are  ultimate  because,  being  the  word  of 
God,  they  must  pronounce  infallibly  and  supremely 


GlKARDEAU  371 

upon  all  questions  relating  to  religious  faith  and  prac- 
tice. The  duty  of  the  church,  consequently,  to  conform 
herself  strictly  to  the  divine  word,  and  her  guilt  and 
danger  in  departing  from  it  would  seem  to  be  transpar- 
ently evident.  But  the  clearest  principles,  through  the 
blindness,  fallibility,  and  perverseness  of  the  human 
mind,  frequently  prove  inoperative  in  actual  experi- 
ence; and  the  history  of  the  church  furnishes  lamenta- 
ble proof  that  the  great,  regulative  truth  of  the  com- 
pleteness and  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures  constitutes 
no  exception  to  this  remark.  Because  we  are  Protest- 
ants, and  Presbyterian  Protestants,  because  the  doc- 
trine of  the  perfection  and  ultimate  authority  of  the 
word  lies  at  the  root  of  our  system  and  is  embodied  in 
our  standards,  we  are  not,  therefore,  free  from  the 
peril  attending  the  failure  of  the  church  to  conform 
herself  in  all  things  to  the  revealed  will  of  Christ,  and 
her  tendency  to  rely  upon  her  own  folly  instead  of  His 
wisdom. 

It  is  designed,  in  these  remarks,  to  direct  attention 
to  the  subject  of  the  discretionary  power  of  the  church; 
and  in  the  discussion  of  that  question,  logical  fitness 
requires  that  the  great  Protestant  principle  of  the  com- 
pleteness and  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures  be  premised. 
That  being  admitted,  the  Rationalist  hypothesis  of  the 
final  authority  of  reason  in  matters  of  religious  faith 
and  duty,  and  the  Romanist,  which  affirms  the  ultimate 
rule  to  be  the  ScrijDtures  and  tradition,  as  expounded 
by  an  infallible  human  head  of  the  church,  are  effectu- 
ally discharged.  To  establish  this  fundamental  as- 
sumption, recourse  need  be  had  but  to  a  single  short 
but  conclusive  argument.  Those  who  appeal  to  the 
Scriptures  as  possessing  any  authority  at  all  must  ad- 
mit them  to  be  true.     They  are  a  veracious  witness. 


372  Sermons 

But  they  affirm  themselves  to  be  inspired :  "All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God;"  and  as  inspired 
they  farther  assert  that  they  are  a  complete  standard 
of  faith  and  directory  of  practice.  They  claim  to  be 
"profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works." 
Either  we  must  deny  their  truthfulness  in  this  in- 
stance, or  admit  it.  If  we  deny  it,  then  their  character 
for  veracity  breaks  down  in  all  respects,  in  accordance 
with  the  maxim:  "false  in  one  point,  false  in  all." 
They  are  suited  to  be  no  rule  at  all.  If  we  admit  their 
truthfulness,  then,  as  they  declare  themselves  to  be 
complete,  we  must  believe  that  they  are;  and  so  every 
other  rule  is  excluded,  and  they  stand  alone,  without  a 
.rival,  either  as  a  co-ordinate  or  a  supplementary  stand- 
ard of  faith  and  duty. 

But,  although  the  Scriptures  are  the  supreme  rule, 
they  are  not  alone  the  supreme  judge  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice. The  question  being  as  to  the  final  judge  whose 
expositions  of  the  rule  are  ultimate,  the  answer  is  given 
with  equal  sublimity  and  accuracy  in  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith:  "The  supreme  Judge  by  which 
all  controversies  of  religion  are  to  be  determined,  and 
all  decrees  of  councils,  opinions  of  ancient  writers,  doc- 
trines of  men,  and  private  spirits,  are  to  be  examined, 
and  in  whose  sentence  we  are  to  rest,  can  be  no  other 
but  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  the  Scripture."  From 
the  nature  of  the  case,  the  only  competent  judge  of  a 
divine  rule  is  a  divine  judge.  Let  us  pause  a  moment 
that  we  may  estimate  the  force  of  this  mighty  colloca- 
tion. The  grand  principle  of  Protestantism  is  not  that 
the  supreme  judge  is  the  "Word  alone,  nor  that  it  is  the 
Spirit  alone:  but  that  it  is — the  Word  and  the  Spirit. 


Girardeau  373 

This  little  coupling  and,  which  brings  together  and 
indissolubly  unites  the  two  great  terms — the  Word,  the 
Spirit,  effects  the  junction  with  a  thundering  clank 
which  should  ring  in  the  ear  of  the  church,  and  pene- 
trate into  her  innermost  heart.  The  copulative  here  has 
a  significance  akin  to  that  which  expresses  the  sub- 
stantial unity  of  the  three  distinct  subsistences  in  the 
adorable  Trinity — the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  one  God  over  all  blessed  forever.  It  is 
like  that  between  justification,  sanctification,  and  the 
personal  experience  of  both, — not  the  water  only,  not 
the  blood  only,  not  the  Spirit  only ;  but  the  Spirit  and 
the  water  and  the  blood,  one  in  the  unity  of  the  Word, 
and  one  in  the  concrete  unity  of  the  believer's  expe- 
rience. God,  all-wise,  has  put  together  these  two  terms 
of  the  grandest  of  all  Protestant  canons — the  Word  and 
the  Spirit,  the  supreme  judge  of  controversies;  and 
what  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man  put 
asunder !  Their  divorce  is  sure  to  result  in  slavery  to 
the  letter  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  in  wild 
hypotheses  as  to  human  rights  and  needless  schisms 
which  rend  the  unity  of  the  church  in  pieces. 

Neither,  then,  is  the  conscience  of  the  individual, 
nor  that  of  the  church  in  her  organic  capacity,  pos- 
sessed of  ultimate  authority  in  matters  of  faith  and 
duty.  Both,  in  the  noble  language  of  Luther,  himself 
the  intrepid  defender  of  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, in  his  final  reply  at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  both  are 
"bound  captive  by  the  Scriptures."  And,  as  the  Word 
is  interpreted  by  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
human  wisdom  is  to  be  guided  by  that  infallible  author- 
ity. In  the  grand  words  of  the  same  distinguished 
reformer:  "Obedience  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  gift 
of  miracles,  even  if  we  possessed  that  gift."     Yes; 


374  Sermons 

the  paramount  duty  of  the  church  is  absolute  con- 
formity to  the  written  Word  as  it  is  expounded  to  faith 
by  the  divine  Spirit. 

Attention  is  now  invited  to  a  consideration  of  the 
theory  of  the  discretionary  power  of  the  church.  Has 
she  any  such  power?  If  so,  what  is  it?  and  how  is 
it  limited? 

It  is  obvious  that  the  root  of  these  questions  must 
be  sought  in  an  antecedent  one,  in  reference  to  the  very 
nature  of  the  church  herself.  She  is  fundamentally 
discriminated  from  all  other  institutes  in  this  respect — 
that  they  are  natural,  and  she  is  supernatural.  The 
state  has  its  origin  in  the  facts  and  relations  of  nature, 
and  "is  designed,"  as  a  profound  thinker  has  remarked, 
"to  realize  the  idea  of  justice."  Philanthropic  societies 
have  a  like  foundation  and  aim  to  realize  the  idea  of 
benevolence.  The  church  is  grounded  in  the  super- 
natural facts  and  relations  of  redemption,  and  is  in- 
tended to  "realize  the  idea  of  grace."  Her  very  exist- 
ence is  created  by  the  redeeming  mission  of  Christ. 
She  is  not,  therefore,  a  society  of  human  beings,  as 
such,  but  of  human  beings  as  redeemed.  As  strictly 
a  redemptive  institute  she  must  be  supernatural.  Her 
origin  is  supernatural  as  lying  in  the  mediatorial  work 
of  Christ;  her  existence  as  historically  developed  is 
supernatural,  as  springing  from  the  call  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  her  members  are  men  presumed  at  least  to  be 
supernaturally  regenerated;  and  her  end  is  supernat- 
ural, as  designed  to  illustrate  the  grace  of  a  redeeming 
God.  It  would,  consequently,  violate  all  the  analogies 
of  the  case  to  suppose  that  she  is  left  to  the  guidance  of 
a  rule  of  faith  and  duty  which  is  natural — which  is 
dictated  by   the  wisdom   of  the  human   intelligence. 


Girardeau  375 

Like  herself,  her  fundamental  rule  must  be  supernatu- 
ral— it  must  be  a  revelation  from  Him  who,  as  He  has 
redeemed  her  by  His  blood  and  called  her  by  His 
Spirit,  alone  possesses  the  authority  to  give  her  con- 
stitution and  the  power  to  enforce  it.  It  is  barely  con- 
ceivable that  as  a  regenerated  nature  is  imparted  by 
grace  to  her  members,  and  the  promise  of  illumination 
is  furnished  them,  she  might  have  been  left  to  the  guid- 
ance of  s^jnctified  reason  under  the  direction  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  without  the  formal  instructions  of  an 
objective  rule  of  faith  and  duty, — supernaturally  im- 
parted wisdom  might  have  been  able  to  frame  rules 
adequate  to  the  wants  even  of  a  supernatural  society. 
It  might  be  supposed  that,  as  God  originally  stamped 
the  articles  of  natural  religion  upon  the  reason  of  man 
and  engraved  His  law  upon  his  conscience.  He  might 
have  pursued  the  same  course  in  regard  to  the  religion 
of  grace.  But  this  antecedent  probability  is  vacated 
of  force  by  the  consideration  that  while  we  are,  if 
regenerate,  endowed  with  a  reason  and  conscience  su- 
pernaturally illuminated,  we  are  also  still  under  the 
partial  influence  of  sinful  principles;  and  in  the  colli- 
sion between  these  two  antagonistic  elements  which 
would  emerge  upon  the  presentation  of  the  concrete 
cases  of  experience,  confusion  would  necessarily  char- 
acterize our  ultimate  judgments,  and  utter  uncertainty 
attach  to  the  resulting  rule.  But  the  question  is  settled 
by  fact.  God  has  furnished  to  the  church  a  supernatu- 
rally revealed,  an  external  and  authoritative  rule  of 
faith  and  duty;  and  allusion  has  only  been  made 
to  the  antecedent  presumption  indicated  in  order  to 
evince  the  necessity  for  such  a  standard.  As  infinite 
wisdom  appointed  the  external  objects  of  nature,  the 


376  Sermons 

sun,  moon,  and  stars  in  the  heavens  above  and  the  visi- 
ble phenomena  of  the  earth  below,  fixed  realities  by 
which  the  aberrations  of  perception  and  the  illusions 
of  sense  may  be  corrected,  so  has  He  set  in  the  super- 
natural firmament  of  His  Word  the  great  facts  and 
doctrines  of  redemption  as  unchanging  and  permanent 
data,  in  accordance  with  which  all  the  deductions  of 
reason  and  all  the  decisions  of  conscience,  in  the  domain 
of  religion,  are  to  be  tested  and  regulated. 

Now,  as  it  has  pleased  God  to  communicate  to  the 
church  a  supernatural  revelation  of  His  will,  which 
He  intended  and  has  declared  to  be  a  complete  and 
supreme  rule  of  faith  and  life,  it  would  seem  to  be 
intuitively  obvious  that  her  duty  is  to  conform  herself 
implicitly  and  absolutely  to  it  in  all  things,  that  she 
has  no  discretion  but  to  teach  and  observe  all  that 
Christ  has  commanded,  and  to  teach  and  observe  noth- 
ing else.  The  maxim  of  Bacon,  in  regard  to  the  rela- 
tion which  man  holds  to  nature  as  a  minister  and  in- 
terpreter, would  appear  to  apply  with  enhanced  em- 
phasis to  that  which  the  church  sustains  to  the  Scrip- 
tures. They  disclose  a  new  world  of  supersensible  and 
transcendent  realities — a  supernatural  universe.  In 
their  light  even  the  common  obligations  and  duties  of 
"the  law  moral"  in  respect  to  which  the  natural  reason 
and  conscience  are,  in  some  measure,  competent,  to 
speak,  are  brought  under  the  moulding  influence  of 
supernatural  relations,  enforced  by  supernatural  mo- 
tives and  impressed  by  supernatural  sanctions.  Grant- 
ing that  the  church,  as  renewed  and  enlightened  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  is  enabled  to  study  and  apprehend  these 
revealed  mysteries,  we  are  compelled  to  confess  that  she 
must  ever  be  the  learner  and  servant,  and  not  the  law- 
giver and  master.     Faith,  or  what  is  the  same  thing, 


Girardeau  377 

reason  born  again,  the  siipernaturally-imparted  organ 
of  perception  which  adapts  her  to  this  system  of  re- 
demptive phenomena,  is  a  confession  of  her  inability 
to  originate  anything  in  such  a  sphere.  It  can  only 
report  what  it  observes.  The  church,  therefore,  can 
have  no  opinions  and  frame  no  laws  of  her  own.  The 
facts,  the  doctrines  which  expound  the  relations  of 
those  facts,  and  the  practical  rules  which  enforce  the 
duties  arising  from  those  relations,  are  all  divinely 
given.  Her  whole  duty  lies  in  believing  and  obeying. 
She  can  create  nothing.  There  is  no  necessity  for  it 
even  if  she  could.  All  that  she  requires  is  already  pro- 
vided for  her  by  the  wisdom  and  mercy  of  her  head. 
She  is  completely  equipped  for  all  the  exigencies  of 
her  life,  and  for  all  the  ends  which  her  Lord  has 
designed  her  to  achieve.  The  extent  of  her  power  is 
thus  easily  defined, — it  consists  in  first  loiowing,  and 
then  applying,  the  rule  of  faith  and  duty  which  ex- 
presses to  her  the  will  of  Christ.  These  conclusions 
are  so  fair  and  obvious  that  one  reasoning  abstractly 
could  scarcely  imagine  how  they  may  be  disputed ;  and 
yet  the  history  of  the  church  has,  to  a  great  extent, 
been  a  record  of  perpetual  contradictions  of  them. 
How  is  the  amazing  fact  to  be  accounted  for?  Apart 
from  that  general  cause,  the  corruption  of  the  human 
heart,  which  ever  tends  to  mar  by  its  touch  every  per- 
fect work  of  God,  a  special  explanation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  assumption  that  the  church  is  invested  with  a 
discretionary  power  which  may  be  legitimately  exer- 
cised alike  in  the  sphere  of  doctrine,  of  government, 
and  of  worship.  Here  we  lay  our  finger  upon  the  main 
secret  of  the  church's  tendency  to  degeneracy  in  these 
vital  concerns.  The  theory  of  discretionary  power 
constitutes  her  formal   justification  of  her   practical 


378  Sermons 

departures  from  the  Word.  It  appears,  in  the  main,  to 
be  founded  on  one  or  the  other,  or  on  a  combination  of 
both,  of  these  suppositions — ^namely,  that  the  state- 
ments of  doctrine  in  the  Scriptures  are  in  the  form  of 
concise  and  comprehensive  enunciations  of  principles, 
which  need  to  be  expanded  and  developed  by  addition- 
al deliverances;  and  that  the  rules  laid  down  for  gov- 
ernment and  worship  are  regulative,  not  constitutive — 
general  provisions  without  the  specification  of  particu- 
lar modes  and  minute  details:  and  their  application  to 
the  varying  circumstances  and  multiplied  exigencies 
of  the  church  demand  from  her  supplementary  legisla- 
tion in  a  more  specific  shape.  The  church  is  endowed 
with  wisdom  for  the  discharge  of  these  important 
offices;  and  so  long  as  she  does  not  positively  contradict 
the  Word,  her  exercise  of  this  discretionary  power  is 
legitimate.  She  is  not  to  be  tied  to  the  letter  of  Scrip- 
ture— that  would  be  a  bondage  inconsistent  with  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  her  free.  She  is  in 
some  sort  His  confidential  agent,  and  as  such  she  is 
entitled  to  use  her  own  judgment.  T^liere  the  Scrip- 
tures are  silent  she  may  speak,  and  whatever  measure 
they  do  not  prohibit,  and  is,  to  her  mind,  consistent 
with  their  general  scope  and  spirit,  she  is  not  pre- 
cluded from  adopting.  To  require  her  to  produce  a 
divine  warrant  for  all  that  she  does,  is  to  fetter  her 
freedom  and  cripple  her  energies. 

Let  us  contemplate  the  operation  of  this  theory 
of  discretionary  power  in  the  sphere  of  doctrine.  Let 
us  see  how,  under  its  influence,  the  potent  key  is  wielded 
by  the  church  which  admits  her  into  'this  grand  depart- 
ment of  Christ's  kingdom.  It  is  in  the  way  of  what  is 
termed  development  of  doctrine.  The  idea  which  is 
embodied  in  this  high-sounding  phraseology  is  some- 


Girardeau  379 

what  vague  and  indefinite,  as  every  one  must  have  felt 
who  has  made  the  attempt  to  seize  it.  The  meaning  of 
the  term  must,  if  possible,  be  settled  in  order  that  we 
may  attain  some  clear  apprehension  of  the  question 
before  us.  Development  may  be  understood  to  signify 
the  express  eliciting  from  anything  that  which  is  im- 
plicitly contained  in  it ;  and  that  either  by  a  process  of 
self-evolution,  or  by  the  agency  of  extraneous  forces 
acting  upon  it ;  or,  it  may  be  taken  to  mean  the  unfold- 
ing of  a  series  or  system  by  substantive  addition  and 
accretion  to  what  previously  existed,  in  accordance  with 
an  intelligent  plan.  In  this  latter  case  there  is  no  self- 
evolution;  the  development  is  effected  by  successive 
interpositions  of  a  creative  power.  There  is  no  educ- 
tion of  what  was  latent  in  a  thing  already  existing,  but 
the  creation  of  new  things  related  to  those  going  before, 
not  by  inherent  affinity,  but  by  the  unity  of  an  intelli- 
gent scheme.  This  sort  of  development  is  simply  the 
orderly  procedure  of  intelligence  accomplishing  results 
in  pursuance  of  a  definite  plan.  It  is  the  development 
of  a  scheme,  not  of  the  individual  things  embraced  un- 
der it.  When,  for  example,  a  certain  class  of  scientific 
men  contend  that  the  Creator  brings  into  being  new 
species  of  vegetables  or  animals,  different  from,  but 
related  to,  those  previously  existing.  He  only  develops 
His  plan;  there  is  no  evolution  of  species  into  species, 
but  a  clear  addition  at  each  step  in  the  creative  process 
to  the  numerical  sum  of  distinct  beings. 

Let  it  be  observed  now  that  the  question  is  not 
whether  there  has  been  a  divine  development  of  doc- 
trine by  the  instrumentality  of  inspired  prophets  and 
apostles.  Of  course  there  has  been.  As  each  dispensa- 
tion of  religion  succeeded  another,  there  was  an  addi- 
tion of  new  facts,  and  a  fresh  development  of  doctrine. 


380  Sermons 

The  Jewish  economy  was  an  advance  upon  the 
Patriarchal,  and  the  Christian  upon  the  Jewish;  and 
this  progress  of  doctrine  went  on  under  the  immediate 
agency  of  inspiration  until  the  canon  of  Scripture  was 
closed.  The  question  is  not,  whether  God  developed 
doctrine — that  is  conceded ;  but  it  is,  whether  the  canon 
of  Scripture  having  been  closed,  the  church  is  clothed 
with  power  to  continue  the  development. 

In  order  to  clear  our  way  still  farther,  let  us  note  the 
patent  distinction  which  has  been  pressed  by  orthodox 
Protestants,  and  candidly  and  explicitly  stated  by 
rationalist  theologians  themselves — the  distinction  be- 
tween a  subjective  and  an  objective  development  of 
doctrine.  The  former  is  simply  the  growth  and  expan- 
sion in  the  mind  itself  of  its  knowledge  of  the  doctrines 
externally  given  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  not  a  develop- 
ment of  Scripture,  nor  a  development  from  Scripture, 
but  a  development,  as  Dr.  Rainy  has  said,  up  to  Scrip- 
ture, as  the  ultimate  standard.  It  is  what  every  well- 
instructed  Christian  understands — the  leaving  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  going  on  onto  per- 
fection. In  the  case  of  the  church  as  an  organized 
society  living  on  from  age  to  age,  it  is  the  progress 
which  she  has  made  in  the  knowledge  of  Scriptural 
truth  in  consequence  of  her  conflicts  with  error,  and 
the  discipline  she  has  undergone.  The  latter — the  al- 
leged objective  development  of  doctrine — is  the  numer- 
ical increase  of  the  objects  of  faith,  the  addition  of 
others  to  those  already  externally  given  in  the  Scrip- 
tures; it  is  the  expansion  and  enlargement  of  the  doc- 
trinal system  by  substantive  accretions  to  the  comple- 
ment of  doctrine  revealed  in  the  written  word.  It  is 
this  latter  view  which  constitutes  the  very  core  of  the 
theory  of  development  of  doctrine. 


Girardeau  381 

Now,  in  regard  to  this  theory  it  deserves,  in  the  first 
place,  to  be  remarked  that  its  most  prominent  advo- 
cates are  logically  guilty  in  confounding  the  two  mem- 
bers of  the  distinction  which  has  just  been  signalized. 
At  one  time  they  argue  for  what  no  one  denies — the 
development  of  the  knowledge  of  doctrine,  and  at  an- 
other for  a  very  different  kind  of  development — that  of 
the  doctrinal  system  of  the  Scriptures.  The  confusion 
is  damaging  to  the  success  of  the  theory.  Let  us  have 
one  thing  or  the  other.  The  amalgamation  of  ration- 
alist and  evangelical  views  in  the  same  line  of  argu- 
ment is  too  glaring  an  incongruity  to  be  overlooked. 

In  the  second  place,  the  theory  involves  the*  incon- 
sistent mixture  of  the  two  sorts  of  development  to 
which  in  the  foregoing  remarks  attention  has  already 
been  directed, — the  one,  by  a  process  of  self-evolution 
by  virtue  of  inherent  tendencies,  and  the  other,  by  posi- 
tive additions  effected  by  creative  power.  A  patient 
endeavor  to  detect  the  real  merits  of  the  theory  has  led 
us  to  the  opinion  that  it  finds  some  plausible  ground  in 
the  following  assumptions :  First,  the  doctrines  of 
Scripture  may  be  regarded  as  seminal  principles — ■ 
germ-truths,  which  were  not  intended  to  be  complete, 
but  to  expand  into  other  and  related  doctrines  by  vir- 
tue of  certain  tendencies  inherent  in  them;  in  some 
such  manner  as  the  germ-cells  of  vegetable  or  animal 
organisms  are  developed  by  a  process  of  growth,  or  as 
the  rudimentary  truths  of  the  human  mind  are  un- 
folded through  the  progress  of  intelligence  to  maturity. 
Secondly,  there  may  be  assumed  to  be  a  genius  or  spirit 
which  pervades  and  characterizes  the  doctrinal  system 
of  the  Scriptures — a  sort  of  typical,  controlling  idea, 
in  accordance  with  which  the  mind  of  the  church,  re- 
flectively acting  upon  the  process  of  evolution  as  it 


382  Sermons 

brings  the  germinal  principles  of  the  divine  Word  into 
contact  with  her  changing  circumstances  and  her  diver- 
sified necessities,  is  enabled  to  register  the  results  of  the 
development  in  the  shape  of  formulated  statements. 
Substantial  additions  are  thus  made  to  the  doctrines  of 
Scripture,  but  the  church  does  not  create  them.  Her 
intelligence  is  indeed  in  contact  with  the  developing 
truth,  but  only  as  a  concurring  and  conditioning  force. 
As  one  species  of  animals,  it  is  said,  is  evolved  into  a 
new  and  distinct  species,  so  one  truth,  or  group  of 
truths,  is  evolved  into  a  new  truth  or  group  of  truths. 
The  church  simply  watches  the  course  of  this  wonder- 
ful self- development  of  doctrine,  marks  the  results  and 
reduces  them  to  formal  record.  Thus  the  body  of  doc- 
trine is  continually  enlarging.  Did  our  limits  permit, 
we  think  it  might  be  shoAvn  that  these  germ-principles 
of  ScrijDture  are  hypothetical.  The  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  word  are  developed  in  it  far  more  fully 
and  systematically  than  is  commonly  supposed.  The 
great  cardinal  truths  of  justification  and  sanctification, 
for  example,  are  very  elaborately  and  completely  ex- 
pounded with  their  affiliated  doctrines  in  the  epistle 
to  the  Romans,  and  that  of  the  priesthood  of  Christ  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  As  to  this  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity which  is  substituted  for  the  Holy  Ghost,  what 
we  have  to  say  is,  that  it  usually  turns  out  to  be  but 
the  dominating  conception  by  some  individual  or  party 
of  the  contents  of  Scripture,  to  which  they  are  bent  to 
serve  a  purpose.  We,  of  all  men,  have  reason  to  know 
what  this  genius  of  the  gospel  can  accomplish,  when  it 
holds  its  light  for  humanitarian  and  higher-law  de- 
velopers of  the  Bible. 

But  the  case,  as  it  has  just  been  stated,  is  not  the 
case  as  put  by  the  Romanist  defenders  of  this  theory 


Girardeau  383 

themselves.  They  admit  that  all  the  results  of  this 
self-evolution  are  not  to  be  retained ;  and  they  cover  up 
the  difficulties  in  which  such  a  view  of  the  process  in- 
volves them  under  the  cloudy  phrase — historical  de- 
velopment. They  assume  an  infallible  developing  au- 
thority which  sifts  out  all  that  is  undesirable  and  form- 
ulates only  what  is  suitable.  The  admission  is  fatal.  It 
concedes  the  fact  that  the  alleged  development  does  not 
proceed  by  its  own  law,  but  is  arbitrarily  managed  and 
regulated  by  the  church.  We  have,  then,  after  all,  not 
a  develoi:)ment  by  legitimate  evolution  of  comprehen- 
sive principles,  but  one  implying  the  continuous  growth 
of  a  system  by  the  interventions  of  creative  power.  The 
church  is  the  creator;  she  makes  the  substantive  addi- 
tions to  the  original  doctrines  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
she  does  it  by  the  process  of  construction  in  accordance 
with  a  scheme  of  her  own.  The  hypothesis  is  weighed 
down  by  the  difficulties  with  which  a  searching  histori- 
cal criticism  had  embarrassed  that  of  tradition,  for 
which  it  was  intended  to  be  a  philosophical  substitute. 
They  both  postulate  an  infallible  develoj)ing  authority. 
That  being  granted,  it  is  virtually  admitted  that  the 
church  has  creative  power,  and  actually  makes  new  doc- 
trines in  addition  to  those  of  the  Scriptures.  This 
theory  of  development,  then,  stands  chargeable  with 
bringing  together  and  confounding  incongruous  hypo- 
theses. 

In  the  third  place,  the  theory,  in  the  hands  of  the 
Romanist,  effectually  breaks  down  at  the  point  at 
which  it  assumes  the  continuance  of  inspiration.  Were 
it  true  that  the  church  is  inspired  and,  therefore,  gifted 
with  infallibility  for  the  development  of  doctrine,  it 
would  follow  that  there  is  a  continuous  supernatural 
revelation  of  God's  will.    The  development  in  the  way 


384  Sermons 

of  addition  would  be  legitimate,  since  it  would  be 
divine.  But  the  fundamental  assumption  of  the  theory 
— the  existence  of  an  infallible  developing  authority — ^is 
unsupported  by  evidence.  The  miraculous  credentials 
of  inspiration  are  absent.  Let  the  Pope  raise  the  dead 
and  we  will  consider  his  claim  to  be  inspired. 

The  theory  as  held  by  the  Rationalist,  w^hile  substan- 
tially identical  with  that  of  the  Romanist,  differs  from 
it  in  several  respects, — he  denies  the  Scriptures  to  be  a 
supernaturally  inspired  revelation;  he  makes  reason, 
instead  of  an  infallible  church,  the  ultimate  developing 
authority ;  and  he  asserts  its  competency  to  abridge,  as 
well  as  enlarge,  the  doctrinal  contents  of  the  Word. 
Our  main  issue  with  the  Rationalist  is  not  in  regard  to 
the  power  to  develop  the  Scriptures,  but  in  reference 
to  their  inspiration.  But  holding,  as  we  do,  the  fact  of 
their  inspiration,  the  argument  against  the  power  of 
reason  to  develop  their  doctrines  either  by  addition  to, 
or  substraction  from,  them  is  a  short  one.  The  develop- 
ing authority  cannot  be  of  lower  degree  than  that 
which  originally  communicated  the  doctrines.  To 
remit  the  dicta  of  an  inspired  revelation  to  the  fallible 
judgment  of  reason  is  to  bring  God  to  the  bar  of  man. 

We  meet  this  whole  theory  of  development  of  doc- 
trine, which  involves  positive  additions  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, by  whomsoever  held,  on  the  simple  ground  of 
the  perfection  and  supremacy  of  the  written  Word.  We 
accept  its  own  testimony  that  it  thoroughly  furnishes 
the  man  of  God  for  all  good  works,  and  maintain  that 
the  church,  as  a  society  of  men  of  God,  finds  in  its  pro- 
visions ample  furniture  for  all  her  needs.  It  is  absurd 
to  talk  of  substantially  developing  a  complete  rule;  it 
is  wicked  to  say  that  the  Scriptures  are  not  complete. 
The  church  has  no  such  discretionary  power  as  is  im- 


Girardeau  385 

plied  in  this  theory  of  development  of  doctrine  by 
which  Rationalist  and  Romanist — Herod  and  Pontius 
Pilate — take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord  and 
against  his  anointed. 

Still  the  question  presses,  whether  the  church  has 
any  power  to  develop  doctrine.  Is  there  such  a  thing 
as  its  legitimate  development  ?  It  is  necessary  that  we 
look  again  to  the  signification  of  our  terms.  There  are 
certain  writers,  as,  for  instance.  Dr.  Rainy  in  his 
recent  able  lectures  on  the  Delivery  and  Development 
of  Christian  Doctrine,  who  employ  the  term  doctrine  in 
a  subjective  sense,  to  signify  the  conception  which  the 
mind  has  of  the  teaching  of  Scripture,  and  which  it 
reduces  to  formal  shape.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible 
as  apprehended  by  the  understanding,  and,  perchance, 
modified  by  it  in  the  process  of  assimilation.  Hence 
it  is  inferred  that  a  real  development  of  doctrine  is 
warrantable.  Now,  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  if  a 
doctrine  precisely  as  it  is  enunciated  in  the  Scriptures 
is  received  by  the  mind,  there  is  no  more  development 
admissible  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other.  If  a  doc- 
trine be  the  very  same  on  the  pages  of  the  Word  and  on 
the  tablets  of  the  human  mind,  what  is  predicable  of  it 
in  one  place  is  predicable  of  it  in  the  other.  And  if,  as 
written  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  sacred  oracles,  it  is 
not  susceptible  of  substantial  development,  neither  is  it 
capable  of  such  development  when  inscribed  by  the 
same  Spirit  upon  the  human  soul.  The  same  thing  is 
true  of  doctrine  as  registered  by  the  church  in  her 
formularies  of  faith  and  duty.  If  the  doctrines  of 
these  symbols  exactly  coincide  with  those  delivered  in 
the  Scriptures,  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  they  can 
receive  any  other  development  than  that  to  which 
Scripture  itself  may  be  subjected.    The  ground  may. 


386  Sermons 

therefore,  be  boldly  and  safely  taken,  that  the  doctrine 
of  Scripture,  if  rightly  apprehended  by  the  individual 
mind,  or  rightly  expressed  in  a  church-creed,  admits 
of  no  substantial  development.  It  is  a  completed 
product  of  the  divine  intelligence.  What  is  true  of 
any  particular  doctrine  is  also  true  of  a  system  of  doc- 
trine, whether  held  by  an  individual  or  by  the  church. 
If  in  either  case  the  scheme  of  Scripture  doctrine  is 
accurately  reproduced,  nothing  can  be  added  to  it  and 
nothing  taken  from  it.  We  do  not  hesitate,  therefore, 
to  maintain  that  in  so  far  as  a  creed  faithfully  con- 
forms to  Scripture,  it  is  no  more  susceptible  of  develop- 
ment than  Scripture  itself.  What  is  it,  in  that  case, 
but  Scripture? 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  doctrines  are  held  by  the  mind 
which  are  not  those  of  Scripture,  what  is  the  develop- 
ment which  is  needed?  What  can  it  be  but  abandon- 
ment of  them  and  the  substitution  of  the  true  doc- 
trines? If  destruction  can  be  termed  development, 
then  may  such  doctrines  be  developed.  If  those  held 
are  but  imperfectly  conformed  to  the  scriptural  stand- 
ard, the  developing  process  is  simply  one  of  correction 
by  that  standard.  It  is  somewhat  curious  that  there 
should  be  any  perplexity  about  this  matter.  Mani- 
festly, the  development  which  is  possible  and  legitimate 
in  such  cases  is  that  not  of  doctrine,  but  of  doctrinal 
knowledge.  It  is  the  mind's  stock  of  knowledge  which 
is  developed  by  substantial  additions;  and  the  very 
staple  of  these  additions  ought  to  be  the  unchanging 
doctrines  of  God's  Word.  And  precisely  so  is  it  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  church  in  her  organic  capacity,  as 
that  knowledge  is  formulated  in  her  creeds.  The  fixed, 
the  invariable,  the  undeveloping  quantity  is  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Scriptures;  the  variable  and  developing 


Girardeau  387 

is  the  church's  knowledge.  If  a  creed  is  imperfect,  le't 
the  church  develop  it  into  closer  conformity  with  the 
Scriptures;  or,  in  "other  words,  let  her  adjust  the  formal 
statements  of  her  knowledge  to  the  nature  and  extent 
of  that  knowledge.  This  she  not  only  may  do,  but 
ought  to  do;  but  in  that  case  it  is  not  Scripture  doc- 
trine which  is  developed,  it  is  the  theology  of  the 
church,  by  being  brought  into  closer  approximation  to 
the  changeless  and  everlasting  Word.  The  distinction 
which  has  been  illustrated  is  as  clear  is  it  is  simple,  and 
the  wonder  is  that  it  is  not  always  observed. 

WTiat  becomes,  then,  of  that  development  of  doc- 
trine by  inference,  which  the  Westminster  Confession 
appears  to  sanction?  If  by  development  be  meant  the 
unfolding,  the  bringing  out  the  latent  and  unexpressed 
meaning  of  a  proposition,  then  it  is  admitted  that  to 
deduce  doctrines  from  Scripture  propositions  by  good 
and  necessary  consequence  is  a  legitimate  development 
of  Scripture.  But  let  it  be  observed  that  the  develop- 
ment, in  that  case,  proceeds  not  by  substantive  addi- 
tion. It  is  simply  the  explicit  evolution  from  the  doc- 
trinal propositions  of  the  Word  of  what  is  implicitly 
contained  in  them, — the  inference  is  part  of  the  original 
enunciation.  And  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is 
not  a  discretionary  power  which  entitles  the  church  to 
make  such  a  development  of  doctrine  as  this :  the  rules 
of  logic  necessitate  it.  The  only  discretionary  power 
which  the  church  is  apt  to  employ  in  the  case  is  to 
attempt  a  development  by  ill  and  unnecessary  conse- 
quence. She  has  no  commission  to  reason  badly.  The 
sort  of  evolution  of  doctrine  we  are  considering  is  only 
justifiable  when  it  proceeds  by  logical  inference,  and 
logical  inferences  are  not  speculative  opinions.  Let  the 
church  confine  herself  to  the  deduction  of  good  and 


388  Sermons 

necessary  consequences  from  the  doctrines  of  Scripture, 
and  she  will  not  develop  from  them  the  doctrines  and 
commandments  of  men. 

There  is  a  specious  and  dangerous  form  of  this  theory 
of  development  of  doctrine  which  threatens,  at  the 
present  day,  to  invade  the  supremacy  of  the  written 
Word.  The  ground  is  not  openly  taken  that  the  doc- 
trinal system  of  the  Scriptures  may  be  developed,  but 
it  is  maintained  that  the  creeds  and  confessions  in 
which  the  church  has  logically  arranged  that  system 
cannot  bind  the  conscience  or  shackle  thought.  It  is 
contended  that  they  are  human  compositions — fruits  of 
the  human  brain,  and  that  they  are  consequently  col- 
lections of  the  unauthoritative  dogmas  of  men.  To 
forbid  the  development  of  doctrine  beyond  their  limits 
is  represented  as  tyranny,  and  tyranny  in  its  worst 
form,  as  inflicted  upon  the  intellect  itself.  The  precious 
and  inalienable  right  of  private  judgment,  consecrated 
to  the  Protestant  heart  by  the  struggles  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, is  retrenched,  and  the  dogmatic  despotism  of  man 
again  enthroned  in  the  sacred  domain  of  conscience. 
The  free,  progressive,  advanced  thought  of  the  "age 
must  not  be  strapped  down  by  old  dogmas  which  have 
gone  to  sleep  with  the  conflicts  which  gave  them  birth. 
Like  the  weapons  of  ancient  warfare,  they  did  good 
service  in  their  time,  but  they  must  give  way  to  the 
improved  arms  of  the  present.  Theological  schools 
are  not  to  be  repositories  of  these  now  useless  engines. 
The  demand  of  the  times  is  for  untrammelled  develop- 
ment. The  young,  vigorous,  exultant  intellect  of  this 
era  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less;  and  if  the 
church  insists  on  clinging  to  antiquated  dogmas  and 
repressing  this  temper  of  development,  she  must  con- 
sent to  be  left  behind  by  the  grand  army  of  progress 


Girardeau  389 

in  its  onward  and  triumphant  march.  This  is  eloquent. 
All  that  it  needs  to  make  it  effective  is — truth.  Had  it 
possessed  that  simple  quality  it  would,  ere  this,  have 
fired  and  roused  the  heart  of  the  church. 

If  the  preceding  argument  is  worth  anything,  it  has 
shown  that  in  whatever  way  the  doctrines  of  the  divine 
Word  may  be  expressed,  they  are  characterized  by  com- 
pleteness and  ultimate  authority,  and  are,  therefore, 
incapable  of  substantial  development.  Whether  enun- 
ciated in  the  Scriptures,  or  written  upon  the  tablets  of 
the  human  mind,  or  inscribed  upon  the  pages  of  a 
church-formulary,  they  are  possessed  of  the  same  im- 
mutable characteristics.  The  question,  then,  is  simply 
one  of  fact, — do  church-creeds  faithfully  reproduce  the 
doctrines  of  the  Scriptures?  The  question  to  us  as  a 
church  is.  Do  our  standards  accurately  state  those  doc- 
trines? If  they  do  not,  the  development  required  is 
to  expunge  the  dogmas  which  do  not  express  the  mind 
of  Christ  in  the  written  Word,  and  incorporate  those 
that  do.  If  they  do,  as  they  utter  the  word  of  Christ, 
they  are  clothed  with  Christ's  authority.  The  delivery 
of  Christ's  doctrines  and  commandments  by  men  does 
not  make  them  the  doctrines  and  commandments  of 
men.  The  fact  being  settled  that  the  doctrines  of  these 
standards  are  the  very  doctrines  of  Scripture,  we  meet 
the  fundamental  premise  in  which  the  opposition  to 
them  is  grounded  with  a  denial.  They  are  not  human 
compositions,  except  in  so  far  as  their  form  and  ar- 
rangement are  concerned — they  are  for  substance  the 
composition  of  the  divine  Spirit ;  they  coincide  with  the 
inspired  writings.  Their  dogmas  are  not  man's,  they 
are  God's  dogmas.  The  cry  for  liberty  to  develop 
theological  thought  beyond  their  doctrines  is  the  de- 
mand for  license  to  develop  it  beyond  God's  doctrines. 


390  Sermons 

This  is  the  real  secret  of  revolt  against  the  binding 
authority  of  confessions.  When  men  cry,  Down  with 
creeds !  they  mean,  Down  with  the  Bible !  When  they 
shout,  We  will  not  be  tied  down  by  confessions  of 
faith !  they  mean.  We  will  not  submit  to  God's  author- 
ity— the  human  intelligence  is  too  gloriously  free  to  be 
led  captive  by  God  Himself !  These  are  not  Christian 
views;  they  are  the  children  of  rationalism  brought  to 
the  font  of  the  .church  and  baytized  under  the  attract- 
ive names  of  Broad-Churchism,  Liberal  Christianity, 
and  Progressive  Thought — the  fair  daughters  of  men 
with  whom,  when  the  sons  of  God  consort,  they  gen- 
erate the  giant  leaders  of  defection  and  apostasy. 

And  in  the  name  of  reason  we  would  ask.  Why 
should  confessions  of  faith  be  rejected  because  they 
are  old?  What  is  there  in  age  to  invalidate  truth? 
She  is  as  old  as  God  and  as  immortal  as  He.  Is  not 
the  Bible  old?  Has  age  made  it  worthless?  Is  it  not 
now,  as  it  ever  has  been,  the  impregnable  tower  into 
which  the  righteous  runneth  when  pressed  by  the 
legions  of  the  pit?  Has  age  made  it  decrepit?  Is  it 
not  now  taking  w^ngs  like  the  Apocalyptic  angel,  to 
fly  in  mid-heaven  and  blow  the  trump  of  jubilee  to  the 
slaves  of  sin  and  death  ?  Is  not  nature  old  ?  And  are 
her  laws  inoperative  because  they  began  to  work  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world  ?  Are  her  ordinances  worn 
out  because  they  are  old?  Shine  not  the  heavenly  host 
with  the  same  lustre  with  which  they  beamed  upon 
the  plains  of  Uz,  when  Job  sang  of  the  bands  of  Orion 
and  the  sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades  ?  And  are  the 
grand  facts  and  doctrines  of  redemption  ejffete  because 
they  date  back  to  the  promise  which,  springing  like  a 
bow  from  the  abyss  of  the  fall,  has  spanned  the  arch 
of  time  ?    Is  the  panoply  of  God  of  no  further  service 


Girardeau  391 

because  for  ages  the  darts  of  the  Devil  have  been  driven 
in  a  fiery  storm  against  it?  And  is  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God,  now  useless  and  to 
be  discarded  because  in  the  conflicts  of  centuries  it  has 
rung  against  the  armor  of  error  and  the  mail  of  hell? 
No;  the  difficulty  with  these  confessions — these  battle- 
torn  standards  of  the  church — is  not  that  they  are 
antiquated;  it  is  that  they  are  as  young  and  vigorous 
as  ever.  The  light  of  immortal  youth  which  rests  upon 
the  divine  Word  kindles  upon  them.  Their  crime  is 
that  they  too  faithfully  represent  God's  authority — 
that  they  restrain  the  license  of  speculation,  call  the 
students  of  truth  into  the  school  of  Christ,  and  bind 
His  3^oke  upon  their  necks. 

To  develop  her  knowledge  of  Scripture  doctrine  as 
its  meaning  is  elicited  by  fresh  conflicts  with  error,  and 
new  evolutions  of  providence,  and,  as  developed,  to 
give  it  formal  and  permanent  expression  in  her  symbols 
and  in  this  way  to  develop  them, — this  is  conceded  to  be 
the  privilege  and  the  duty  of  the  church;  but  so  far 
as  this  has  been  done  and  her  standards  made  coinci- 
dent with  the  Scriptures,  she  is  debarred  from  any 
substantive  development  of  their  doctrines  as  she  is 
precluded  from  such  a  development  of  the  complete 
and  ultimate  rule  of  faith  and  duty.  She  ought  to 
add  Scripture  doctrines  to  her  standards  when  they  are 
wanting;  she  has  no  power  to  add  to  Scripture  doc- 
trines in  her  standards. 

The  next  aspect  of  this  subject  which  claims  our 
notice  is  the  extent  of  discretionary  power  possessed 
by  the  church  in  the  sphere  of  government. 

Reverting  to  the  great  principle  of  the  completeness 
of  the  Scriptures  as  a  rule  of  faith  and  duty,  we  would 
expect  to  find  in  them  ample  directions  in  respect  to 


392  Sermons 

the  government  of  the  church  as  an  organized  society ; 
we  would  reasonably  look  for  an  adequate  constitution 
for  this  supernatural  kingdom  from  Him  who  is  at 
once  its  Savior,  its  head  and  its  sovereign — the  giver 
of  life,  the  source  of  power  and  the  administrator  of 
rule.  To  take  any  other  view  would  be  to  impugn  the 
perfection  of  the  Scriptures,  or  to  suppose  that  they 
were  designed  to  be  a  guide  to  individuals  only,  and 
not  to  the  church  as  an  organic  whole.  To  adopt  this 
supposition  is  to  impeach  the  wisdom  of  Christ,  since 
in  that  case  He  would  have  failed  to  guard  His  church 
against  the  corruptions  into  which  she  has  been 
plunged  by  this  very  hypothesis,  that  He  has  given  her 
no  definite  form  of  government,  but  left  her  in  that 
matter  to  the  guidance  of  her  own  wisdom.  But  our 
expectation  that  He  would  provide  for  all  the  require- 
ments of  His  church  is  not  disappointed.  He  has 
revealed  to  her  His  will  in  this  solemn  concern  of  her 
polity.  It  is  usual  to  draw  a  sharp  distinction  between 
doctrine  and  government.  In  a  certain  sense,  it  is  ad- 
missible— the  sense  in  which  the  gospel  as  a  doctrine 
differs  from  church-government  as  a  law.  It  would, 
however,  seem  to  be  more  accurate  to  take  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  doctrine  touching  the  way  in  which 
individuals  are  to  be  saved,  and  the  doctrine  touching 
the  way  in  which  the  church  is  to  be  governed — in  a 
word,  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  and  the  doctrine  of 
church- government.  Both  are  matters  of  revelation; 
the  government  of  the  church  is  a  revealed  doctrine  as 
well  as  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  In  both  cases,  there- 
fore, our  obligation  is  alike  to  believe  and  obey — to 
accept  the  doctrine  and  to  perform  the  inculcated 
duties.  If  the  individual  embraces  the  gospel  by  faith, 
by  faith  likewise  does  the  church  receive  the  teachings 


Girardeau  393 

of  her  Lord  in  reference  to  the  government  and  order 
of  His  house.  If  this  position  be  correct,  it  follows 
that  the  church  has  no  more  discretionary  power  to 
develop  the  doctrine  of  government  by  substantive  ad- 
dition or  diminution  than  she  possesses  in  regard  to 
the  doctrine  of  salvation.  This,  however,  is  denied.  It 
is  contended  that  there  is  no  definite  form  of  church- 
government  revealed  in  the  Scriptures ;  only  the  essen- 
tial principles  are  given.  If  the  language  conveys  any 
meaning,  it  implies  that  government  in  the  general  is 
instituted,  but  no  form  of  government  in  particular. 

It  may,  without  arrogance,  be  suggested  that  it  is 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  extract  any  clear  and  pre- 
cise notion  from  this  position.  We  can  understand  the 
proposition  that  Christ  appointed  no  government  for 
His  church,  but  left  it  to  the  enlightened  wisdom  of 
His  followers  to  devise  one  for  themselves;  but  that  is 
not  what  is  affirmed.  We  can  perceive,  in  the  abstract, 
the  logical  distinction  between  the  generic  notion  of 
goA^ernment  and  the  different  species  which  may  be  con- 
tained under  it ;  but  it  passes  our  ability  to  comprehend 
how,  in  the  concrete,  an  organized  society  can  be  under 
government  in  the  general,  but  under  no  particular  sort 
of  government.  If,  for  examj^le,  it  be  said  that  a  given 
political  community  is  under  government,  the  ques- 
tion at  once  arises.  What  government?  Is  it  monarch- 
ical, or  aristocratic,  or  democratic?  If  it  be  replied 
that  it  is  neither  under  any  one  of  these,  nor  under  one 
composed  of  the  elements  of  some  or  all  of  them,  then 
we  beg  to  know  what  conceivable  idea  of  government 
remains.  It  is  like  thinking  away  all  the  distinctive 
marks  which  characterize  a  thing  and  then  attempting 
to  form  a  notion  of  the  thing  itself.  There  is  a  gov- 
ernment, but  there  is  no  constitution  which  embodies  it, 


394  Sermons 

and  nobody  authorized  to  administer  it.  The  truth  is, 
that  the  effort  to  realize  the  abstract  idea  of  government 
in  the  concrete  necessitates  the  designation  of  some 
particular  features,  and  however  few  may  be  the  ele- 
ments enumerated,  their  specification  defines  a  certain 
kind  of  government  which  is  distinguishable  from 
others.  If,  therefore,  Christ  has,  in  His  Word,  or- 
dained any  government  at  all  for  His  church,  it  must 
be  one  which  is  capable  of  being  realized  in  a  definite 
form.  Has  He  done  this  ?  Has  He  revealed  a  govern- 
ment for  His  church?  Is  this  among  the  all  things 
which  He  commanded  the  aspostles  and  which  they 
were  to  teach  the  church  to  observe  ?  This  question  will 
be  settled  by  another.  Has  He  revealed  those  com- 
ponent elements  of  a  government  the  existence  of 
which  determines  the  existence  of  the  government 
itself?  The  essential  elements  which  enter  into  the 
composition  of  a  government  are  laws,  officers  and 
courts.  Each  of  these  elements  is  revealed  in  the  New 
Testament, — itself  embodies  the  laws,  the  officers  are 
given  under  definite  titles  and  with  prescribed  func- 
tions, and  the  courts  are  described.  Presbyterians  are 
sure  that  they  find  a  particular  sort  of  officers,  courts 
peculiarly  composed,  and  a  specific  principle  which 
distinguishes  the  mode  of  administering  the  govern- 
ment from  every  other — the  principle  of  government 
by  Presbyters  in  representative  assemblies,  discrimina- 
ting this  polity  from  Prelacy  on  the  one  hand  and 
Independency  on  the  other.  We  have,  then — so  we 
firmly  believe — a  divinely-revealed  polity  of  definite 
form.  The  King  of  the  church  has  not  left  it  to  her  to 
frame  a  government  upon  principles  of  expediency 
commending  themselves  to  human  wisdom;  He  has 
supernaturally  communicated  to  her  as  a  supernatural 


Girardeau  895 

organism  her  constitution,  office-bearers  and  courts.  It 
is  no  more  permissible  to  the  church  to  devise  her  gov- 
ernment than  to  think  out  her  gospel.  Reason,  no  doubt, 
would,  were  it  left  to  her,  do  better  in  the  one  depart- 
ment than  in  the  other.  That  is  not  the  question.  The 
task  of  doing  neither  has  been  assigned  to  it.  Polity 
is  given  as  well  as  salvation,  and  in  regard  to  it  the 
church  has  no  power  but  to  conform  herself  strictly  to 
the  requirements  of  her  complete  and  infallible  rule. 

There  is  a  respect  in  which  the  church  has  discre- 
tionary power  in  this  department,  but  it  is  one  which 
does  not  in  the  slightest  degree  affect  the  nature  and 
organization  of  her  government.  It  lies  not  in  the 
sphere  of  the  supernatural,  but  altogether  in  that  of 
the  natural.  The  Westminster  Confession  very  pre- 
cisely defines  the  extent  of  this  discretion.  It  is  re- 
stricted to  "some  circumstances  concerning  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church  common  to  human  actions  and 
societies."  It  is  designed  to  speak  more  particularly 
of  this  "doctrine  of  circumstances"  under  the  topic  still 
remaining — that  of  worship — and  it  is  here  dismissed 
with  a  single  remark.  It  is  clear  that  circumstances 
which  are  common  to  human  actions  cannot  be  any- 
thing which  is  peculiar  to  church  actions,  and  those 
which  are  common  o  human  societies  cannot  be  any- 
thing distinctive  of  the  church  as  a  certain  kind  of 
society.  They  are  circumstances  belonging  to  the 
temporal  sphere — time,  place,  decorum,  and  the  natural 
methods  of  discharging  business  which  are  necessities 
to  all  societies.  They  do  not  appertain  to  the  kind  of 
government  which  the  church  ought  to  have,  nor  the 
mode  in  which  it  is  to  be  dispensed. 

This,  then,  is  the  extent  of  the  discretionary  power 
of  the  church  in  the  sphere  of  government:    She  is  to 


396  Sermons 

add  nothing  to,  to  take  nothing  from,  what  Christ  has 
commanded  in  the  Scriptures.  All  her  needs  are  there 
provided  for.  She  must  have  a  divine  warrant  for 
every  element  of  her  polity  and  every  distinctive  func- 
tion of  government.  Her  laws  are  given;  her  officers 
are  given;  and  the  mode  in  which  those  laws  shall  be 
administered,  and  those  officers  shall  act,  is  given.  She 
can,  consequently,  make  no  laws — ^her  power  is  limited 
to  declaring  and  applying  Christ's  laws ;  she  can  create 
no  offices — her  power  is  expressed  in  electing  the  per- 
sons to  fill  those  that  Christ  has  appointed;  she  can 
institute  no  new  mode  of  government — her  sole  power 
lies  in  employing  that  which  Christ  has  ordained.  Her 
power  and  her  duty  alike  are  summed  up  in  absolute 
conformity  to  the  Written  Word. 

The  same  general  line  of  argument  is  applicable  to 
the  extent  of  discretionary  power  possessed  by  the 
church  in  the  domain  of  public  worship, — public  wor- 
ship, we  say,  for  that  belongs  to  the  church,  as  such, 
and  all  that  is  predicable  of  it,  is  not  predicable  of  that 
of  the  family  and  the  social  circle. 

Dr.  Breckinridge  has  well  ^  urged  that  the  super- 
natural element  runs  through,  pervades  and  controls 
all  the  departments  of  doctrine,  government  and  wor- 
ship. We  cannot  afford  ever  to  lose  sight  of  this  great 
principle.  It  has  a  commanding  value.  Especially 
ought  we  to  challenge  our  attention  to  it  in  the  matter 
of  public  worship,  because  there  is  no  divine  institution 
in  regard  to  which  natural  wisdom  and  natural  taste 
are  so  apt  to  arrogate  discretion  as  this.  It  involves 
to  a  large  extent  the  sesthetical  element  of  our  nature, 
and  the  imagination  and  the  sensibilities  as  well  as  the 
reason  plead  for  a  share  in  its  control.  A  cultivate*! 
carnality  begs,  clamors,  storms  for  some  license  here. 


Girardeau  397 

Here  it  is,  emphatically,  that  human  wisdom  asserts 
its  liberty  to  exercise  its  own  inventive  power,  and  to 
refuse  conformity  to  divine  appointments  whether  in 
the  establishment  of  modes  of  worship,  or  in  their  alter- 
ation as  positive  institutes.  But  let  it  never  be  for- 
gotten that  will-worship  has  been  under  every  dispen- 
sation of  religion  a  special  object  of  divine  denuncia- 
tion and  wrath.  God  has  always  manifested  a  peculiar 
jealousy  for  the  appointed  worship  of  His  house;  and 
no  marvel,  for  in  the  worship  of  the  solemn  assembly, 
religion  finds  its  highest  and  most  formal  expression, 
the  human  heart  is  most  immediately  conscious  of  the 
divine  presence,  and  the  will  of  the  creature  brought 
into  closest  relation  to  that  of  God.  The  divine  majesty 
is  directly  before  us,  the  glory  of  it  blazes  in  our  very 
eyes,  the  place  is  holy  ground,  and  an  act  which  else- 
where might  be  indifferent  takes  on  the  complexion  of 
profanity.  It  is  to  assert  ourselves  before  God  face  to 
face.  The  sentences  of  Christ's  displeasure  against  the 
invasions  of  His  prerogative  are  not  as  summarily  en- 
forced under  the  New  Dispensation  as  under  the  old, 
but  their  fearfulness  is  not  diminished  by  the  fact  that 
their  execution  is  suspended.  The  Apostle  Paul,  in  the 
third  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
furnishes  a  picture  which  should  enstamp  itself  upon 
the  minds  of  every  Christian  teacher.  He  represents 
one  who  has,  with  doctrinal  correctness,  laid  the  true 
and  only  foundation,  which  is  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet  has 
built  upon  it  a  superstructure  of  wood,  hay  and  stubble. 
Behold  him,  as  the  ordeal  of  the  last  day  tries  his 
work  of  what  sort  it  is !  Every  false  doctrine,  every 
unscriptural  element  of  government,  every  invention  ol: 
will-worship  perishes  one  after  another  in  the  fiery 
circle  which  narrows  around  him;  his  very  vestments 


398  Sermons 

are  swept  from  him  by  its  consuming  breath;  and  he 
stands  naked  and  alone — himself  saved,  but  the  results 
of  his  life-long  labor  reduced  to  ashes  in  the  final  con- 
flagration. Verily,  it  becomes  the  teachers  of  religion, 
as  they  would  not  be  found  at  last  to  have  spent  their 
strength  for  naught,  not  only  to  lay  aright  the  doc- 
trinal foundation,  but  to  attend  to  the  sort  of  super- 
structure which  they  rear  upon  it !  The  standard  of 
building  is  in  their  hands — the  judgment  which  will 
be  laid  for  a  line,  the  righteousness  which  will  be  ap- 
plied as  a  plummet,  are  given  in  the  inspired  word. 
"To  the  law,  and  to  the  testimony;  if  they  speak  not 
according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
in  them." 

The  only  question  is.  Has  Christ  revealed  the  wor- 
ship of  His  house?  Has  He  included  it  among  the 
things  which  He  has  commanded,  and  which  He  has 
enjoined  the  Church  to  observe?  If  He  has,  nothing 
is  left  her  but  to  obey  His  voice. 

The  public  worship  of  the  church,  in  a  wide  sense, 
includes  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  preaching, 
prayer,  the  singing  of  praise,  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  contribution  of  our  substance  to  the  service 
of  God,  and  the  pronunciation  of  the  benediction.  In 
a  stricter  sense,  its  elements  are  prayer  and  singing.  It 
will  not  be  disputed  that  these  modes  of  worship  are 
revealed  by  Christ  in  His  Word.  If  so,  the  church 
has  no  discretionary  power  to  introduce  any  others, 
or  to  change  in  any  respect  those  which  Christ  has  war- 
ranted. The  theory  that  whatsoever  is  not  expressly 
forbidden  in  the  Word  the  church  may  do,  involves  the 
monstrous  assumption,  that  in  matters  of  positive  in- 
stitution uninspired  wisdom  is  of  co-ordinate  authority 
with  the  revealed  will  of  God.     The  power  that  adds 


Girardeau  399 

to  or  abridges  them,  that  changes  or  modifies  them, 
must  either  be  equal  to  the  original  appointing  power, 
or  be  shown  to  be  delegated  from  it.  Neither  of  these 
positions  rests  upon  a  shadow  of  proof  from  the  Scrip- 
tures. But  whatever  others  may  think  on  this  subject, 
our  doctrine  is  definitely  settled.  The  Westminster 
Confession  distinctly  enounces  the  principle  that  what- 
soever, in  connection  with  church-worship,  is  not  com- 
manded, either  expressly  or  implicitly,  is  forbidden. 
Its  language  is:  ''The  acceptable  way  of  worshipping 
the  true  God  is  instituted  by  Himself,  and  so  limited 
by  His  revealed  will,  that  He  may  not  be  worshipped 
according  to  the  imaginations  and  devices  of  men,  or 
the  suggestions  of  Satan,  under  any  visible  representa- 
tion, or  any  other  way  not  prescribed  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.''''  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  best  and 
truest  of  the  Reformers,  the  doctrine  of  our  own  Con- 
stitution, our  accej^ted  exposition  of  the  Written  Word, 
— that  only  what  Christ  has  commanded  can  the  church 
enforce  or  permit;  that  what  He  has  not  commanded 
is  not  allowable;  that  the  only  sphere  in  which  the 
church  possesses  discretionary  power  is  that  of  com- 
manded things,  within  which  she  may  act,  beyond 
which  she  is  not  at  liberty  to  go  one  inch. 

But,  in  this  sphere  of  commanded  things,  what  is 
the  extent  of  her  discretionary  power?  This  is  a 
question  which  is  to  us,  as  a  church,  one  of  present, 
practical  import.  It  is  one  of  the  points  at  which  we 
are  in  especial  danger  of  being  caught  oif  our  guard — 
this  is  a  gate  through  which  the  Trojan  horse  is  sought 
to  be  introduced  into  our  holy  city.  It  is  a  real,  living 
issue.  What  power  has  the  church  within  the  sacred, 
the  divinely-scored  circle  of  commanded  things — ^of 
revealed  duties?     This  being  the  question,  the  answer. 


400  Sermons 

for  us,  is  most  precisely  given  in  our  Confession  of 
Faith,  After  stating  the  mighty  principle  of  the 
limitation  of  power  within  the  things  prescribed  in 
Scripture,  it  proceeds  to  say :  "There  are  some  circum- 
stances concerning  the  worship  of  God  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  church,  common  to  human  actions  and 
societies,  which  are  to  be  ordered  by  the  light  of  nature 
and  Christian  prudence  according  to  the  general  rules 
of  the  word,  which  are  always  to  be  observed."  Since 
then,  by  her  Constitution,  the  charter  which  defines  her 
rights,  limits  her  powers  and  prescribes  her  duties,  the 
discretion  of  our  church  is  astricted  to  "some  circum- 
stances concerning  the  worship  of  God  common  to 
human  actions  and  societies,"  it  is  a  question  of  the 
utmost  consequence.  What  is  the  nature  of  these  cir- 
cumstances? Dr.  Thornwell  puts  the  case  so  clearly, 
and  yet  so  concisely,  that  we  quote  a  portion  of  his 
words  in  answer  to  this  very  question:  "Circum- 
stances are  those  concomitants  of  an  action  without 
which  it  either  cannot  be  done  at  all,  or  cannot  be  done 
with  decency  and  decoriun.  Public  worship,  for  ex- 
ample, requires  public  assemblies,  and  in  public  assem- 
blies people  must  appear  in  some  costume  and  assume 
some  posture.  .  .  .  Public  assemblies,  moreover, 
cannot  be  held  without  fixing  the  time  and  place  of 
meeting:  these  are  circumstances  which  the  church  is 
at  liberty  to  regulate.  .  .  .  We  must  distinguish 
between  those  circumstances  which  attend  actions  as 
actions — that  is,  without  which  the  actions  cannot  be — 
and  those  circumstances  which,  though  not  essential, 
are  added  as  appendages.  .  These  last  do  not  fall  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  church.  She  has  no  right  to 
appoint  them.  They  are  circumstances  in  the  sense 
that  they  do  not  belong  to  the  substance  of  the  act. 


Girardeau  401 

They  are  not  circumstances  in  the  sense  that  they  so 
surround  it  that  they  cannot  be  separated  from  it. 
A  liturgy  is  a  circumstance  of  this  kind. 
In  public  "worship,  indeed  in  all  commanded  external 
actions,  there  are  two  elements — a  fixed  and  a  variable. 
The  fixed  element,  involving  the  essence  of  the  thing, 
is  beyond  the  discretion  of  the  church.  The  variable, 
involving  only  the  circumstances  of  the  action,  its  sep- 
arable accidents,  may  be  changed,  modified  or  altered, 
according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  case,"  Such  is  the 
doctrine  of  one  who  was  a  profound  and  philosophical 
thinker,  a  man  deeply  taught  of  the  Spirit,  and  a 
master  of  the  Presbyterian  system,  the  doctrine  of  Cal- 
vin and  Owen,  of  Cunningham  and  Breckinridge,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Eeformed  Church  of  France,  of  the 
Puritans  of  England,  and  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  doctrine  to  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  the  practice 
of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Ireland,  in  an  age  of  growing  laxity,. still 
continues  to  be  conformed. 

There  are  three  criteria  by  which  the  kind  of  circum- 
stances attending  worship  which  fall  under  the  discre- 
tionary power  of  the  church  may  be  determined:  first, 
they  are  not  qualities  or  modes  of  the  acts  of  worship ; 
the}^  are  extraneous  to  them  as  a  certain  kind  of  actions ; 
secondly,  they  are  common  to  the  acts  of  all  societies, 
and,  therefore,  not  peculiar  to  the  acts  of  the  church 
as  a  particular  sort  of  society — they  are  not  character- 
istic and  distinctive  of  her  acts  and  predicable  of  them 
alone;  and  thirdly,  they  are  conditions  necessary  to 
the  performance  of  the  acts  of  worship — without  them 
the  acts  of  this  society  could  not  be  done,  as  without 
them  the  acts  of  no  society  could  be  done. 


402  Sermons 

Let  us  now  bring  a  liturgy  to  the  test  of  these  cri- 
teria ;  and  it  is  instanced  because  it  is  an  appendage  to 
one  of  the  acts  in  which  worship  is,  in  the  strictest  sense, 
rendered  to  God — prayer.  It  cannot  abide  the  first, 
because  it  qualifies  and  modifies  the  act  of  prayer 
itself — it  is  a  kind  of  prayer,  a  mode  in  which  it  is 
offered.  It  cannot  abide  the  second,  because  it  is  not 
common  to  human  actions  and  societies — all  societies, 
political,  scientific,  agricultural,  mechanical  and  others 
surely  do  not,  as  such,  use  liturgies.  It  cannot  abide 
the  third,  because  a  liturgy  is  not  a  condition  necessary 
to  the  performance  of  the  act  of  prayer.  Its  necessity 
could  only  be  pleaded  on  one  of  two  grounds:  either 
that  without  it  the  act  of  prayer  cannot  be  performed 
at  all,  and  that  is  out  of  the  question;  or,  that  without 
it  the  act  cannot  be  performed  decently  and  in  order, 
and  to  take  that  ground  is  to  impeach  the  office  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  is  specially  promised  to  teach  us 
how  to  pray  and  what  things  to  pray  for,  to  depreciate 
the  capacities  of  the  sanctified  intelligence  of  man,  and 
to  pass  a  derogatory  criticism  upon  some  of  the  purest 
churches  that  have  ever  flourished,  and  some  of  the 
noblest  saints  who  have  ever  edified  the  people  of  God 
by  their  ministrations. 

The  other  strict  and  proper  act  of  worship  is  the 
singing  of  praise.  Let  it  be  observed  that  it  is  not 
praise,  but  the  singing  of  praise.  The  distinction  is 
not  captious — it  is  precisely  made  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  our  Standards.  They  both  prescribe  the  act 
of  singing,  and  they  both  recognize  the  element  of 
praise  as  not  peculiar  to  that  act.  The  Confession  of 
Faith  says:  prayer  with  thanksgiving  is  one  special 
part  of  religious  worship ;  and  the  Directory  f of  Wor- 
ship designates  giving  thanks  as  an  element  in  the 


Girardeau  403 

prayer  before  sermon  in  public  services.  Praise  has, 
therefore,  a  generic  character,  and  sustains  a  two-fold 
relation — to  prayer  and  to  singing.  The  specific  ele- 
ment, then,  in  the  part  of  worship  we  are  considering 
is  singing.  Now  it  is  pleaded  that  the  church  has 
discretionary  power  to  employ  instrumental  music,  as 
one  of  the  circumstances  allowed  by  our  Standards. 
Let  us  submit  it  to  the  test  of  the  criteria  by  which 
these  circumstances  are  determined.  First,  they  are  not 
parts  of  the  acts  of  worship  by  which  they  are  modi- 
fied; but  this  circumstance  is  a  part  of  the  act  of  sing- 
ing praise  by  which  it  is  modified — it  is  a  mode  in 
which  it  is  performed.  Secondly,  these  circumstances 
are  common  to  the  acts  of  human  societies,  not  peculiar 
to,  and  distinctive  of,  those  of  the  church.  It  is  very 
certain  that  instrumental  music  is  not  such  a  circum- 
stance. It  will  hardly  be  said  that  all  societies  play  on 
instruments  as  well  as  the  church.  Thirdly,  these  cir- 
cumstances are  conditions  necessary  to  the  performance 
of  the  acts  of  worship,  without  which  they  either  can- 
not be  done  at  all,  or  not  done  decently  and  in  order. 
That  the  singing  of  praise  cannot  be  performed  at  all 
without  instrumental  music  will  be  affirmed  by  none. 
But  it  may  be  affirmed  that  it  cannot  without  it  be 
performed  decently  and  in  order.  Let  it  be  noticed  that 
the  question  is  not  whether  it  may  not  be  performed  in 
an  indecent  and  disorderly  manner.  Granted;  but  so 
may  instrumental  music.  The  question  is,  whether  it 
cannot  be  done  decently  and  in  order  without  instru- 
mental accompaniment.  The  question  can  only  be 
determined  by  reference  of  the  practice  to  a  permanent 
and  universal  standard  of  propriety  and  decorum.  And 
to  say  that  the  simple  singing  of  God's  praise  in  His 
house  is  indecent  and  disorderly  is  to  say,  that  for 


404  Sermons 

twelve  centuries  the  church  of  Christ  was  guilty  of  this 
impropriety;  for  it  is  a  matter  of  history  that  for 
that  period  not  even  the  Church  of  Rome  knew  any- 
thing of  instruments  in  her  worship.  To  say  that  the 
simple  singing  of  God's  praise  violates  the  standard  of 
decency  and  order  of  this  age  is  to  censure  the  glorious 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  and  the  Irish  Presbyterian 
Church  for  an  indecent  and  disorderly  conduct  of  this 
part  of  divine  worship.  The  ground,  therefore,  that 
instrumental  music  in  public  worship  is  one  of  those^ 
circumstances  required  by  the  rule  that  all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order  cannot  be  maintained  with- 
out a  sj^irit  of  arrogance  and  censoriousness  which 
would  itself  violate  the  higher  principle  of  Christian 
charity. 

It  is  submitted,  with  all  modesty,  that  this  line  of 
argument  ought  to  be  conclusive  with  Presbyterians, 
at  least,  against  ranking  instrumental  music  in  public 
worship  as  one  of  the  circumstances  common  to  human 
actions  and  societies  which  fall  under  the  discretion  of 
the  church.  Consequently,  to  justify  it,  it  must  be 
proved  to  be  one  of  those  directly  commanded  things 
which  the  apostles  taught  the  church  to  observe.  To 
take  that  ground  is  to  contradict  the  unbroken  evidence 
of  history  from  the  apostolic  age  until  the  middle  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  The  force  of  this  considera- 
tion lies  here:  there  having  been  a  tendency  in  the 
church  from  the  earliest  age  to  depart  from  the  simple 
institutions  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  utterly  unaccountable 
that  she  should  have  become  more  simple  in  her  wor- 
ship after  the  apostles  fell  asleep  than  she  was  under 
their  personal  teaching.  It  is  clear  as  day,  the  human 
heart  being  what  it  is,  that  if  the  apostolic  churches 
had  been  accustomed  to  this  mode  of  worship  it  never 


Girardeau  405 

would  have  been  eradicated.  The  natural  tastes  of  men 
all  forbid  the  supposition.  The  elimination  of  instru- 
mental music  from  the  worship  of  Christ's  house  by 
the  best  churches  of  the  Reformation,  by  the  English 
Puritans  and  the  Church  of  Scotland,  was  the  result 
of  an  effort  to  purify  the  church  and  to  restore  her  to 
what  they  conceived  to  be  the  simplicity  of  apostolic 
practice.  In  this  matter,  we  have  relapsed  from  their 
reformed  position.  But  if  the  use  of  instrumental 
music  in  the  New  Testament  Church  be  not  either 
directly  commanded  in  Scripture,  or  indirectly  as  one 
of  the  circumstances  common  to  human  actions  and 
societies  and  lying  within  the  sphere  of  commanded 
things,  it  only  remains  to  consider  it  a  clear,  substantive 
addition  to  the  divinely  revealed  rule  of  faith  and  duty 
in  the  Written  Word;  and  then  it  is  prohibited.  The 
issue  is:  Either  we  must  prove  that  it  is  one  of  the 
things  expressly  or  implicitly  commanded  by  Christ, 
or  admit  that  it  is  forbidden.  The  latter  alternative  is 
the  doctrine  of  our  Standards ;  and,  if  so,  the  inference 
as  to  what  our  practice  ought  to  be  is  too  apparent  to 
be  pressed. 

T\Tiat  has  been  said  upon  this  last  point  has  not  been 
dictated  by  a  spirit  of  captiousness  or  arrogance.  A 
natural  wish  to  conform  to  the  usages  of  one's  time,  a 
desire  for  popular  esteem  in  order  to  usefulness,  a 
regard  to  what  may  be  deemed  the  demands  of  cour- 
tesy and  earthly  propriety,  a  respectful  deference  to 
the  opinions  of  others,  and  an  indisposition  to  stand 
on  what  it  is  usual  to  characterize  as  a  minor  and  indif- 
ferent question,  though  minor  and  indifferent  it  can- 
not be  if  it  involve  a  grand,  fundamental  principle, — 
all  these  considerations  conspired  to  restrain  the  utter- 
ance.    Only  a  solemn  conviction  of  the  duty  of  the 


406  Sekmons 

church  and  of  her  danger  in  departing  in  any  respect 
from  the  Word  have  urged  it.  The  argument  may  have 
merely  the  significance  of  a  protest.  For  its  truth, 
appeal  is  humbly  taken  to  our  Constitution;  for  the 
purity  of  the  motive  that  prompted  it,  to  Him  who 
knows  the  secrets  of  the  heart.  It  has  been  spoken  as 
unto  wise  men;  let  them  judge  what  has  been  said. 

Finally,  in  these  remarks  the  ground  has  been 
assumed  that  the  doctrine,  the  polity  and  the  worship 
of  the  church  are  all  divinely  given  in  the  Word,  and 
that  she  has  no  right  in  any  of  these  departments  which 
is  not  a  divine  right.  This  is  not  to  advocate  bigotry 
and  exclusiveness.  We  abjure  High-churchism  as  much 
as  we  do  No-churchism.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the 
more  closely  the  church  is  conformed  to  the  word,  the 
more  nearly  would  she  approximate  the  spirit  of  its 
divine  author.  She  would  be  no  broader  and  no  nar- 
rower than  He.  She  would  be  strict  only  where  He  is 
strict,  and  breathe  the  same  charity  with  Him.  She 
would,  in  that  case,  be  exactly  adapted,  like  the  Word 
itself,  to  show  forth  the  glory  of  Christ.  In  conse- 
quence of  such  a  conformity  to  the  pattern  shown  in  the 
Mount,  she  would  indeed  be  pure  and  beautiful;  but 
the  eyes  of  men  would  not  be  attracted  to  her.  She 
would  stand  a  crystal  palace  transmitting  the  glory  of 
the  Savior  who  reigns  within  her,  transparently  reveal- 
ing His  cross  and  His  crown  to  all  who  seek  Him  for 
salvation  and  are  willing  to  bow  to  His  rule.  Her 
language  would  emphatically  be:  "God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ!"  High-churchism  makes  extravagant  claims 
to  discretionary  power,  depreciates  the  necessity  of 
conformity  to  the  Word,  especially  in  government  and 
worship,  yet  asserts  the  exclusive  validity  of  its  orders 


Girardeau  407 

and  its  sacraments,  and  unchurches  all  bodies  of  pro- 
fessed disciples  of  Jesus  which  subscribe  not  to  its 
pretensions.  To  say  that  a  church  which  grounds  her 
every  right  in  a  warrant  from  the  Scriptures,  and 
repudiates  the  license  of  human  wisdom  and  the  dis- 
cretion of  human  authority ;  which  admits  to  her  com- 
munion all  who  are  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  and  justi- 
fied by  faith  in  Christ;  which  unchurches  no  body  of 
men  that  preaches  a  true  gospel  and  administers  its 
ordinances  in  their  essential  purity, — to  say  that  such 
a  church  is  chargeable  with  High-church  exclusiveness 
is  simply  preposterous.  It  is  to  make  white  black.  It  is 
to  say  that  the  Scriptures  are  a  digest  of  High-church 
canons,  and  that  Christ  and  His  apostles  were  the  ex- 
ponents of  intolerance.  It  is  a  powerful  presumption 
in  favor  of  the  genuineness  of  a  church  when  her  in- 
herent and  distinctive  principles,  carried  out  to  their 
legitimate  results,  conduct  her  by  a  logical  necessity 
to  that  broad,  loving  catholicity  which  pulsates  in  the 
Scriptures,  as  it  beat  in  the  heart  of  a  dying  Savior. 
It  is  not  conformity  to  the  Word,  it  is  the  want  of  it, 
which  produces  the  temper  of  exclusiveness.  We  make 
the  distinction  between  a  true  church  more  perfectly 
conformed,  and  a  true  church  less  perfectly  conformed, 
to  the  supreme  rule;  as  we  make  a  distinction  between 
a  true  Christian  more  completely,  and  a  true  Christian 
less  completely,  obedient  to  the  same  great  standard. 

Nor  does  it  follow  that  because  it  is  of  the  very  last 
importance  that  a  church  adhere  to  the  doctrines  of 
salvation,  it  is,  therefore,  of  little  consequence  whether 
she  be  careful  to  adjust  her  government  and  her  wor- 
ship to  the  standard  of  the  Word.  Difference  in  degree 
of  importance  between  the  several  contents  of  the  ulti- 
mate rule  has  no  influence  upon  the  duty  to  receive  and 


408  Sermons 

obey  whatever  is  revealed.  Christ  has  spoken;  His 
authority  clothes  every  word  with  importance.  And  it 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  efficacious  grace  of 
the  gospel  ordinarily  acts  through  an  apparatus  of 
divinely- appointed  ordinances,  and  that  to  neglect  them 
is  to  turn  aside  from  the  channels  in  which  it  is  in- 
tended to  flow — the  types  and  moulds  in  which  it  is 
designed  to  operate.  There  is  as  exquisite  an  adapta- 
tion of  the  organism  of  the  church  to  the  supernatural 
energies  of  grace  as  there  is  of  the  fabric  of  the  ex- 
ternal world  to  the  unseen  forces  of  nature ;  or  as  there 
is  of  the  structure  of  the  human  hodj  to  the  vital 
power  of  the  immaterial  soul. 

There  is,  moreover,  such  a  divinely  adjusted  relation 
between  the  different  departments  of  the  church — 
between  doctrine  and  government  and  worship;  there 
is  so  nice  and  delicate  an  inter-action  among  them,  that 
one  cannot  be  injuriously  affected  without  involving 
the  suffering  of  the  others.  All  history  teaches  this 
lesson.  The  contagion  begun  in  one  sphere  is  sure  to 
spread  by  sympathy  to  the  others,  as  the  consumption 
of  one  organ  of  the  body  fatally  implicates  all  the  rest. 
A  corpse  anywhere  in  the  church  infects  her  whole 
atmosphere.  A  dead  doctrine  tends  to  paralyze  a 
living  polity  and  a  living  worship,  and  a  dead  worship 
infuses  a  poisoning  virus  into  a  living  doctrine  and  a 
living  polity. 

Xor  can  we  be  indifferent  to  the  fact  illuminated  by 
the  experience  of  the  church  that  false  doctrine  always 
tends  to  affiliate  with  a  false  polity  and  a  false  worship. 
In  the  struggles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  Hether- 
ington,  her  eloquent  historian,  graphically  points  out, 
Armenianism  was  almost  always  associated  with  Pre- 
lacy and  a  cumbrous  ritual,  and  Calvinism  with  Pres- 


Girardeau  409 

bytery  and  a  simple  worship.  Introduce  an  unscrip- 
tural  element  into  any  department,  and  if  unchecked 
it  stamps,  in  the  course  of  time,  its  depraving  genius 
upon  all  the  rest.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  guard  the 
towers  of  government  and  worship  on  our  outer  walls, 
assured  that  if  one  of  them  be  carried,  the  path  is: 
opened  up  before  an  irruptive  and  triumphant  foe  to 
the  citadel  of  doctrine  and  the  seat  of  life. 

We  are  apt  to  have  our  eye  diverted  from  the  im- 
f)ortance  of  these  views  by  the  absorbing  interests  of 
our  missionary  enterprises  and  the  intense  activities 
they  evoke.  The  great  command,  "Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature"  is 
summoning  the  church  as  with  the  trump  of  an  angel 
and  the  shout  of  the  Lord  to  the  evangelization  of  the 
race.  Evangelism  is  the  pervading  spirit  of  the  age, 
aggressiveness  its  dominant  policy,  and  onward  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  !  its  thrilling  and  inspiring  battle-cry. 
This  is  the  honor  and  glory  of  our  times — it  throws  us 
back  across  the  desert  of  mediaeval  indifference  into 
sympathy  with  the  sublime  genius  of  the  apostolic  age. 
The  zeal  of  Paul  is  reproduced  and  incarnated  in  the 
burning  heralds  of  the  Cross.  But  the  church  is  not 
only  the  divinely-commissioned  publisher,  she  is  also 
the  divinely-commanded  conservator,  of  the  truth. 
Christianity,  in  her  development  beyond  the  circum- 
scribed limits  of  Judaism,  did  not  throw  off,  she  took 
ujD  and  absorbed,  the  conservatism  of  the  old  dispen- 
sation, while  she  girded  her  loins  under  the  new  for 
its  distinctive  and  glorious  office  of  universal  evangel- 
ization. Conservatism  and  aggression  are  twin  duties, 
complementary  to  each  other.  It  is  just  as  important  to 
maintain  the  truth  as  it  is  to  propagate  it.    The  danger 


410  Sermons 

is  that  the  church  will  neglect  the  former  duty  in  dis- 
charging the  latter — that  she  will  be  more  solicitous 
to  preach  the  gospel  in  some  form  to  the  world  than 
to  guard  the  particular  type  of  it  which  she  impresses 
on  the  forming  and  infantile  churches  of  converted 
heathen  men.  As  surely  as  the  mother  imparts  her 
features  and  habits  to  the  daughter,  so  surely  will  the 
parent  churches  at  home  stamp  their  cast  of  doctrine, 
polity  and  worship  upon  their  children  on  heathen 
soil.  In  her  onward  march  the  church  cannot  afford 
to  neglect  her  base-line.  As  we  value  the  vital  interests 
of  our  own  organizations  as  well  as  of  those  established 
abroad,  we  must  see  to  it,  with  sedulous  and  unremit- 
ting vigilance,  that  we  keep  ourselves  conformed  in  all 
things  to  the  will  of  Christ  as  revealed  in  the  sacred 
word. 

We  are  not  without  peril.  The  law  of  degeneracy, 
the  baleful  results  of  which  are  only  relieved  by  sudden 
and  wonderful  interpositions  of  reviving  grace  at  crit- 
ical epochs  in  the  church's  history,  is  written  upon  all 
the  past.  Shall  we  fondly  dream  that  we  shall  be  free 
from  its  scope?  Look  abroad  upon  the  field  of  the 
church  and  the  world  with  the  patient  eye  of  a  careful 
induction,  scrutinize  contemporaneous  facts,  collect  the 
signs  of  the  times,  and  do  we  not  reach  the  alarming 
generalization  that  there  is  in  the  best  churches  of 
Protestantism  a  growing  latitudinarianism  which 
spurns  the  restraints  of  a  complete  and  ultimate  rule 
of  faith  and  duty  ?  We  are  now  more  than  three  hun- 
dred years  away  from  the  glorious  Reformation  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  almost  as  far  from  it  as  was  Au- 
gustin  from  the  apostolic  age  when  the  Pelagian  heresy 
threatened  to  engulf  the  church.  Shall  the  American 
church  escape  the  universal  law  of  corruptibility  ?  And 


Girardeau  411 

shall  she  prove  the  solitary  exception  in  history  to  the 
law  of  conflict  and  suffering?  She  has  not  yet  been 
called  to  seal  her  testimony  to  truth  in  the  fire,  although 
well-nigh  every  other  Protestant  church  has  received 
her  baptism  of  blood.  Depend  upon  it,  there  are  de- 
fections and  there  are  struggles  before  us.  The  pro- 
phetic warnings  of  Scripture,  the  confirming  lessons  of 
history  and  the  corroborating  indications  of  the  period 
admonish  us  that  in  the  latter  days  perilous  times  shall 
come,  that  men  shall  depart  from  the  truth,  and  having 
itching  ears  shall  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  that  evil 
men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse  and  worse,  deceiving 
and  being  deceived;  that  as  the  hopes  of  the  church 
sunk  into  the  grave  of  Jesus  just  before  the  ascending 
glories  of  the  apostolic  Reformation,  and  as  they  again 
descended  into  the  sepulchre  just  before  the  resurrec- 
tion light  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  so  they  will 
again  decline  into  the  gloom  and  blood  of  a  wide- 
spread apostasy  and  a  mighty  tribulation,  just  before 
the  Morning  Star  of  the  Millennial  Reformation  shall 
beam  amidst  the  rifted  clouds  of  an  ecclesiastical  night. 
Protestantism  itself  will  need  to  be  reformed. 

What,  then,  is  the  course  which  our  own  beloved 
church  is  called  by  her  Head  to  pursue  ?  What,  fathers 
and  brethren,  what?  WTiat,  youthful  students  and 
thinkers,  into  whose  hands,  under  God,  the  destinies  of 
this  church — her  type  of  faith,  thought  and  action,  of 
doctrine,  polity  and  worship,  are  to  be  intrusted  when 
the  actors  in  her  early  organization  shall  have  mould- 
ered into  dust?  What,  ye  ruling  elders,  responsible 
and  honored  guardians  of  each  little  flock  as  it  rests  in 
its  own  particular  fold  ?  What  is  the  great,  paramount 
vocation  of  this  church?  While  yet  in  the  body  of  her 
mother  she  struggled,  as  conscious  even  then  of  a  sepa- 


412  Sermons 

rate  individuality,  against  the  Esau  of  discretionary 
power,  and  the  first  breath  of  her  independent  historic 
existence  was  expended  in  protest  against  error  and 
testimony  for  truth.  Conformity  to  the  Word  was  the 
reason  of  her  separate  being;  let  conformity  to  the 
Word  be  the  law  of  its  development — conformity  to  the 
Word,  close,  implicit,  undeviating  in  doctrine,  govern- 
ment and  worship.  The  opportunity  furnished  us  is 
inexpressively  grand.  Freed  from  the  conflict  of  an- 
tagonistic ideas,  almost  a  unit  ourselves,  we  have  the 
moulding  and  fashioning  of  a  church  in  our  hands. 
What  will  we  do  with  her  ?  Let  us  rise  to  the  greatness 
of  the  occasion.  Let  us  endeavor,  by  grace,  to  make  this 
church  as  perfect  a  specimen  of  Scriptural  truth,  order 
and  worship  as  the  imperfections  of  the  present  state 
will  permit.  Let  us  take  her  by  the  hand  and  lead  her 
to  the  Word  alone.  Let  us  pass  the  Reformers,  let  us 
pass  the  Fathers,  uncovering  our  heads  to  them  in 
token  of  our  profound  appreciation  of  their  labors  for 
truth,  and  heartily  receiving  from  them  all  they  speak 
in  accordance  with  the  Word;  but  let  us  pass  on  and 
pause  not,  until  with  our  sacred  charge  we  reach  the 
Oracles  of  God,  and  with  her  bow  at  the  Master's  feet, 
and  listen  to  the  Master's  voice.  Let  obedience  to  the 
word  of  Christ  in  all  things  be  the  law  of  her  life;  so 
that  when  the  day  of  review  shall  come,  and  section 
after  section  of  the  universal  church  shall  halt  for 
judgment  before  the  great  Inspector  Himself,  although, 
no  doubt,  there  will  be  much  of  unfaithfulness  of  life 
that  will  draw  on  His  forgiveness.  His  eye  may  detect, 
no  departure  from  His  Word  in  her  principles,  her 
order  and  her  worship.  He  cannot  discredit  His  own 
commands;  and  that  church  will  receive  His  chief 
encomiums  which  has  been  most  closely  conformed  to 
His  Word.    Let  us  strive  for  that  glory ! 


Date  Due 


